Electroless plating of copper through successive pretreatment with silane and colloidal silver

We report a method to perform electroless copper plating on glass that could generate a solid copper film. In this method, γ- mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) was used to form self-assembled molecular layers on commercially available glass slides, which were subsequently activated by dipping them directly into colloidal Ag solution instead of conventional two-step method, SnCl₂ sensitization followed by PdCl₂ activation, and applied successfully for electroless Cu plating. Experimental characterizations showed that a thin layer of Ag colloids was anchored onto the glass surface through S - Ag bonds, resulting a quicker deposition of copper metal and a stronger adherence of copper film on MPTS-modified glass surface than those on conventional two-step modified glass.