Capability of Cold Spraying to Obtain High Deposition Efficiency for the Metallization of PEEK

This work addresses some of the challenges associated with depositing copper on PEEK by cold spraying. Getting copper powder to adhere to the PEEK substrate is not difficult at first, but deposition efficiency falls rapidly during coating build-up. Without heating the propellant gas, a copper coating will not form, even at the highest gas pressures. Increasing prechamber pressure is necessary, but requires an increase in gas temperature to 400°C to reach a deposition efficiency of 70%. Subjecting PEEK to such heat causes delamination issues that offset the deposition efficiency gained.