In a preferred embodiment, there is provided a modified fabric composition, the composition comprising a fabric member and an electroactive member for storing energy, wherein the fabric member comprises a fabric framework defining a deformable plane and a plurality of projections extending at an angle from the plane, and wherein the electroactive member is coupled to at least one of the projections.

Walls of through-holes and vias of substrates with dielectric material are electroless plated with copper using tin-free ionic silver catalysts. Conductive polymers are first formed on the substrates by treating the substrates with a permanganate solution containing complexing anions followed by applying monomers, oligomers or conductive polymers to the substrate to form a conductive polymer coating on the dielectric of the substrate as well as on the walls of through-holes and vias of the substrate. A tin-free ionic silver catalyst is then applied to the treated substrate. Optionally, the tin-free ionic silver catalyst can include a ligand agent to form a coordination entity with the silver ions of the tin-free catalyst. The silver ions of the tin-free catalyst are reduced by the conductive polymer and then an electroless metal copper bath is applied to the treated substrate to copper plate the dielectric and walls of the through-holes and vias of the substrate.

The present invention provides a plating method capable of easily performing various decorative plating processes. The plating method includes a bulge forming process of forming a bulge on an object to be plated by ejecting ink drops of first UV-curable ink from an inkjet head such that the ejected ink drops land on the object, and a plating process of plating the object having the bulge formed thereon, after the bulge forming process. Also, in the bulge forming process, the bulge is formed such that a second surface of the bulge to be plated has surface roughness different from that of a first surface of the object to be plated.

A novel method for the manufacturing of fine line circuitry on a transparent substrates is provided, the method comprises the following steps in the given order providing a transparent substrate, depositing a pattern of light-shielding activation layer on at least a portion of the front side of said substrate, placing a photosensitive composition on the front side of the substrate and on the pattern of light-shielding activation layer, photo-curing the photosensitive composition from the back side of the substrate with a source of electromagnetic radiation, removing any uncured remnants of the photosensitive composition; and thereby exposing recessed structures and deposition of at least one metal into the thus formed recessed structures whereby a transparent substrate with fine line circuitry thereon is formed. The method allows for very uniform and fine line circuitry with a line and space dimension of 0.5 to 10 μm.

Provided are an electronic component manufacturing method by which even a platable layer made of a difficult-to-plate material can be easily plated with good adhesion without using a special chemical solution or a photolithography technique, and an electronic component which has a peel strength of 0.1 N/mm or greater as measured by a copper foil peel test. A picosecond laser beam having a pulse duration on the order of a picosecond or a femtosecond laser beam having a pulse duration on the order of a femtosecond is emitted at a surface of a platable layer (2) in order to roughen the surface, a wiring pattern is formed using a mask (13), and a plated part (12) is formed on the surface of the wiring pattern.

A method of coating an electroplating rack used for supporting non-conductive substrates during a plating process. The method comprises the steps of contacting at least a portion of the electroplating rack with a plastisol composition, the plastisol composition having dispersed therein an effective amount of an additive; and heating the electroplating rack with the plastisol composition thereon to a suitable temperature and for a sufficient time to cure the plastisol and form a solid insulating coating on the electroplating rack. The coated electroplating rack may then be used for mounting non-conductive substrates for subsequent metallization steps.

A method for electroless deposition of aluminum on a substrate includes: activating the substrate; providing an aluminum ionic liquid; adding a reducing agent and an additive to the aluminum ionic liquid to form an electroless plating composition, wherein the additive may include a catalyst, an alloying element, or a combination thereof; and immersing the substrate in the electroless plating composition to have an aluminum layer deposited on the substrate. An article includes the electroless deposited aluminum layer.

A partially plated plastic product includes a first base member and a second base member that are made of different plastic materials. The first base member includes a first corner portion having a curved wall surface. The second base member includes a second corner portion. The first and second corner portions are located on a front side of the product. The first and second base members are adjacent to each other at least at the first corner portion and the second corner portion. Only one of the first and second base members includes a metal coating film formed on a region of an outer surface of the base member with which the other base member is not in contact. The second corner portion includes a groove forming portion. The groove forming portion forms a groove between itself and at least the curved wall surface of the first corner portion.

The present invention relates to a method for preventing the metallization of a support of at least one plastic part subjected to a metallization process, comprising the successive stages of oxidation of the surface of said part, of activation of the oxidized surface and of chemical and/or electrochemical deposition of metal on the activated surface, characterized in that it comprises a stage in which said support, before said oxidation stage, is brought into contact with an inhibiting solution comprising at least one specific metallization inhibitor. The invention also relates to a process for the selective metallization of a plastic part combined with a support, comprising bringing said part into contact with said inhibiting solution.

A process of pretreatment for selective application of electroless metallization to a surface of a non-conductive material and a solution useful for the pretreatment are provided. The process achieves good coverage in areas to be plated on the surface of non-conductive materials without skip plating or over plating.