Electrical and Thermal Properties of Conducting Microbead Prepared by Green Electroless Plating Method Using Gold Nanoparticles

Abstract

We developed a green electroless plating method that enables saving of resources and reduction in emissions to the environment because it uses a self-assembling reaction between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and a nontoxic thiol binder. In this method, a uniform surface coating and thickness reflected by the diameter of AuNPs were obtained on micrometer-sized core plastic beads. Thermal analysis has revealed that AuNP adsorption is based on the chemical reaction and interaction among the AuNP, binder, and bead. Further, the AuNP-plated microbead has high physical, electrical, and thermal stabilities, which would enable its practical applications.