plating solutions embodying the invention concept include the usual major categories of components ; namely , a source of cupric ions and a solvent for these , usually water ; complexing agent or mixtures thereof ; and hypophosphite reducing agent . the most effective complexing agents now known for the electroless copper baths of the invention are n - hydroxyethyl ethylenediamine triacectic acid ( heedta ), ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid ( edta ), nitrilotriacetic acid ( nta ), and alkali metal salts of these . these complexors will provide an electrically conductive copper film on a properly catalyzed non - conductive substrate in the ph range of 2 to 3 . 5 , provided detrimental anions are not in solution . the major area of introducing interfering anions into the plating solution is the source of copper ( cupric ion ) used . we have found that cupric sulfate , nitrate or fluorborate can be used , and in contrast the cupric halides such as chloride , bromide , etc ., also acetate , should be avoided as these will not allow deposition of an electrically conductive copper film when they are significantly present in solution . to maintain the ph in the preferred range , standard acid or alkaline adjustments can be used , such as by addition of sulfuric acid to lower ph and sodium or potassium hydroxide to raise ph . however , an acid or base which would introduce one of the detrimental anions , for example hydrochloric acid , must be avoided to keep the bath operative . concentrations of components can have a wide range and can be optimized within the range to produce the preferred conditions . the concentration of the amine complexors such as edta and heedta in solution is preferably at about one - to - one on a mole ratio basis with the cupric ion , while the nta complexor is preferably on a two - to - one mole ratio with the cupric ion . lesser amounts of complexor will of course leave some copper uncomplexed . this can be tolerated within limits , provided precipitation of particles is insufficient to interfere with the desired degree of luster , smoothness , etc . in the finished plate . on the higher ratio side , there is no problem , as excess of complexor does not hinder the operation of the bath and in fact a slight excess can be helpful to accommodate for conditions of temporary , locally high copper concentration which may arise during bath replenishment operations . sodium hypophosphite is the most readily available hypophosphite material and is accordingly the preferred form of this reducing agent . hypophosphorous acid however is also available and could be used in conjunction with ph adjusters which might be required when using the acid . as to concentration , the optimum level is that which is sufficient to give an adequate copper film . working with large excess of reducer in solution does not normally impede bath operation , but neither does it offer any advantage . a typical workpiece comprising an automotive component molded of standard commercial plating grade abs is first cleaned to remove surface grime , oil , etc . an alkaline cleaning solution is typically used here . this is followed by chemical etch using mixed chromic - sulfuric or all chromic acid , also standard in the industry . typical operating conditions , concentrations and time of treatment are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 515 , 649 . following thorough rinsing , the workpiece is catalyzed . this can be accomplished in the &# 34 ; one - step &# 34 ; method using a mixed palladium - tin catalyst of commercial type . such a catalyst is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 352 , 518 , along with its method of use . following rinsing , the catalyzed workpiece is next placed in a so - called &# 34 ; accelerating solution .&# 34 ; again many types of accelerating baths can be employed , for example the one disclosed in the above mentioned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 352 , 518 , such accelerating baths generally consisting of an acid solution . alkaline accelerators such as sodium hydroxide solution have also been used successfully . the workpiece is then ready after further rinsing for copper plating . the novel copper bath used in this example has the following composition : ______________________________________cuso . sub . 4 . 5h . sub . 2 o 0 . 04m &# 34 ; hamp - ol &# 34 ; ( heedta ) 0 . 05mnah . sub . 2 po . sub . 2 . h . sub . 2 o 0 . 34mwaterph adjuster ( h . sub . 2 so . sub . 4 / naoh ) ph 3______________________________________ the bath is maintained at 155 ° f . ( 68 ° c .) and when the work is immersed in it for 10 minutes , the thickness of copper plate obtained is 11 microinches . in 30 minutes the thickness of deposit is 24 microinches . the deposit is bright pink , a visual characteristic indicating good electrical conductivity . coverage is complete on the catalyzed surface , and the deposit is well - adhered and is free of blisters and roughness . this electroless plated substrate is rinsed , then placed in a standard electrolytic copper strike bath similar to any of those described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 203 , 878 , 3 , 257 , 294 , 3 , 267 , 010 or 3 , 288 , 690 , for example . initially the electroplating is carried out at about 2 volts at a rate of about 20 amperes per square foot . generally this is maintained for about 11 / 2 minutes , or until the thickness of deposit is sufficient to provide greater current - carrying capability . at such time the plating rate may then be increased , as for example to about 4 volts at 40 amperes per square foot , and is continued until the total required thickness of copper is obtained . the workpiece may be further electroplated with nickel , chromium , gold , etc ., as may be required for any given application , using standard electroplating techniques . much of the restriction on initial current density depends on the size and physical complexity of parts , along with the amount of rack contact area available per area of workpiece . if enough contacts are used , the need to monitor initial current densities is less critical ; however in production experience , adequate rack contacts cannot always be found . peel strength tests on plated workpieces obtained from baths in accordance with this example show adherence values of about 8 - 10 pounds per inch for the copper deposit on abs substrates . similar levels of peel strength are obtained for other thermoplastic substrates including polyphenylene oxide , polypropylene , etc ., as well as thermosetting substrates such as phenolic , epoxy , etc . an electroless copper bath identical in all respects to that of the foregoing example is prepared except that a different complexor is used . in this case , the complexor is &# 34 ; hampene na 4 &# 34 ; ( tetrasodium edta ) at the same concentration ( 0 . 05m ) as before and the ph is again 3 . at a bath temperature of 155 ° f ., a bright pink electroless copper deposit of 11 microinches is obtained in 10 minutes , which increases to 25 microinches in 30 minutes . coverage of the workpiece is complete on the catalyzed surface , and the deposit is free of blisters and roughness and is well adhered to the substrate . the deposit forms an excellent base for further metal plating to build up a desired total thickness . when so plated , adhesion tests made on the abs substrate plated in accordance with this example show peel strengths which range from 8 - 10 pounds per inch . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating in the manner described . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of the first example except for complexor , which in this case is nitrilotriacetic acid ( nta ) at 0 . 10m . at a solution ph of 3 , a bright pink adherent copper deposit of 14 microinches is obtained in 10 minutes , and 27 microinches in 30 minutes . after being further plated with additional copper , nickel , chromium or the like , to build up a desired thickness , adhesion values of 8 - 10 pounds per inch peel strength on abs is recorded . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of example i except for the copper salt , which in this case is copper fluoborate at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , a bright pink adherent copper deposit of 14 microinches is obtained in 10 minutes , and 29 microinches in 30 minutes . after being further plated with additional copper , nickel , chromium or the like , to build a desired thickness , adhesion values of 8 - 10 pounds per inch peel strength on abs is recorded . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is identical to that of example ii except for the copper salt which in this case is copper fluoborate at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , a bright pink adherent copper deposit of 12 microinches is obtained in 10 minutes , and 26 microinches in 30 minutes . after being further plated with additional copper , nickel , chromium or the like , to build a desired thickness , adhesion values of 8 - 10 pounds per inch peel strength on abs is recorded . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of example i except for the copper salt which in this case is copper nitrate at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , a good pink adherent copper deposit of 12 microinches is obtained in 10 minutes . after being further plated with additional copper , nickel , chromium or the like , to build a desired thickness , adhesion values of 8 - 10 pounds per inch peel strength on abs is recorded . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of example i except for the copper salt which in this case is copper chloride at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , no plating of a conductive copper film was obtained . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of example i except for the copper salt which in this case is copper acetate at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , a dark brownish black film formed on the workpiece . the film was not appreciably conductive , and not useful for subsequent electroplating . another abs workpiece is prepared for electroless plating as described in example i . the electroless copper bath here is again identical to that of example i except that the copper salt in this case is copper bromide at 0 . 04m . at a solution ph of 3 , no plating of a conductive copper film was obtained . in order to illustrate the effect of varying concentration of the major bath constituents , such as the copper concentration and the reducer concentration , table a gives a summary of results along these lines . the table shows that a wide variation of the copper concentration and reducer concentration can be utilized and still give good pink , conductive copper films . this is a positive benefit for commercial installations where varying parameters are experienced . table a__________________________________________________________________________ electroless depositmolar concentrations time thickness temp . ex . cu ( bf . sub . 4 ). sub . 2 heedta nah . sub . 2 po . sub . 2 . h . sub . 2 o ph ( min .) in . ° f . color__________________________________________________________________________a . 04 . 05 . 17 3 . 0 10 9 155 pinkb . 04 . 05 . 17 3 . 0 30 29 155 pinkc . 04 . 05 . 34 3 . 0 10 12 155 pinkd . 04 . 05 . 34 3 . 0 30 20 155 pinke . 04 . 05 . 51 3 . 0 10 9 155 pinkf . 04 . 05 . 51 3 . 0 30 16 155 pinkg . 08 . 10 . 17 3 . 0 10 8 155 pinkh . 08 . 10 . 17 3 . 0 30 17 155 slightly dk . pinki . 08 . 10 . 34 3 . 0 10 14 155 pinkj . 08 . 10 . 34 3 . 0 30 22 155 pinkk . 08 . 10 . 51 3 . 0 10 11 155 pinkl . 08 . 10 . 51 3 . 0 30 21 155 pinkm . 12 . 15 . 17 3 . 0 10 8 155 pinkn . 12 . 15 . 17 3 . 0 30 19 155 slightly dk . pinko . 12 . 15 . 34 3 . 0 10 13 155 pinkp . 12 . 15 . 34 3 . 0 30 26 155 pinkq . 12 . 15 . 51 3 . 0 10 13 155 pinkr . 12 . 15 . 51 3 . 0 30 23 155 pink__________________________________________________________________________ experimentation was conducted to determine the parameter of ph for the various workable anions . in general the optimum ph appears to be about 3 , with a workable range of about 2 . 0 - 3 . 5 . as the ph is lowered from 3 to 2 the bath stability begins to lessen , and at ph of about 2 . 0 - 2 . 5 we have found that air agitation ( oxygen stabilization ) is necessary to prevent bulk precipitation ( instability ) of copper from solution . at ph below 2 the complexors apparently discontinue coordination with the copper , in fact edta precipitates out of solution at ph less than 2 . as the ph increases from 3 to 3 . 5 , the copper film deposited begins to get darker until at ph more than 3 . 5 , the films produced are brownish and sometimes black , and are not suitable for subsequent electroplating . the data presented in the foregoing examples is based on use of standard platable grade of abs substrate used in plating of plastics with conventional formaldehyde - type electroless copper baths . tests made on other substrates molded of standard plating grade thermoplastics , such as &# 34 ; noryl &# 34 ; ( polyphenylene oxide ) and polypropylene , show that the invention baths are applicable to those as well . also thermosetting substrates of the phenol - formaldehyde as well as epoxy types can be plated in the invention baths , as can other types of thermoset plastics . the invention is especially applicable to plating on plastics ; that is , to applications where the plated part or workpiece is required to have a metal finish for decorative or protective purposes . automobile , appliance and hardware parts are fields in which such applications more frequently arise . in such applications it is usually most practical to apply , initially , a thin deposit of copper by electroless deposition , after which additional thicknesses of copper , nickel , chromium , for example , or other metal can be added more rapidly and economically by standard electrodeposition procedures . the hypophosphite - reduced electroless copper baths of this invention are particularly suited for such applications . in this system the plating rate of copper on palladium / tin catalyzed plastic substrates is initially fast but slows as the copper thickness builds . it is assumed that this occurs because the copper deposit produced in the bath is not as catalytic to the system as is the palladium / tin . this however is an advantage in situations requiring only a thin conductive copper coating , as in plating on plastics , since any extraneous plate - out on tank walls , racks , heater coils , etc . will be inherently self - limiting in the novel baths , and therefore reduces the extraneous plate - out loss , tank clean - out and rack maintenance problems . the preparation of the surface of the substrate , particularly for plating on plastic applications , generally includes the chromic - sulfuric or all - chromic etch procedure mentioned above of bare plastic surfaces . the copper baths of the invention can be used , however , for printed circuitboard applications employing , for example , the &# 34 ; pladd &# 34 ; process of macdermid incorporated , waterbury , conn ., disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 620 , 933 . in that system , a different substrate preparation is used , preliminary to electroless deposition of the copper . this is illustrated by the following example . the workpiece here is to comprise a printed circuitboard which takes the form initially of a blank laminate consisting of aluminum foil bonded to a fiber - glass reinforced epoxy resin substrate . in preparing the circuitboard , this blank laminate is placed in a hydrochloric acid bath to chemically strip off the aluminum foil , leaving the surface of the resin substrate especially suited for subsequent reception of electroless metal deposition . this preliminary operation replaces the chromic - sulfuric etch step mentioned previously . the stripped substrate , after careful rinsing , is then catalyzed , following the same procedure of palladium - tin catalysis described in example i . the catalyzed board is then copper plated , using the same copper solution described in that earlier example . this produces a thin copper deposit across the entire surface of the substrate . a mask or resist is then applied , as by screening , photopolymeric development , etc ., to define a desired printed circuit . the masked ( thinplated ) substrate is then further plated in an electrolytic bath , using the initial electroless deposit as a &# 34 ; bus &# 34 ; to build up additional metal thickness in the unmasked regions of the circuitboard . the resist or mask is next chemically dissolved and the board is placed in a suitable copper etchant solution , such as that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 466 , 208 , for a time sufficient to remove the thin initial copper deposit previously covered by the resist , but insufficient to remove the substantially thicker circuit - defining regions of copper ( or other metal ) built up in the electrolytic plating bath . this technique is sometimes referred to in the art as a semi - additive plating process . in similar manner , the invention is applicable to the &# 34 ; subtractive &# 34 ; procedure for preparation of printed circuitboards having through - holes for interconnecting conductor areas on opposite surfaces of standard copper foil clad laminates . the through - holes are punched in the blank board and the walls of the through - holes plated with copper electrolessly , using the copper solution of this invention after proper catalization of the substrate . additional thickness of the wall deposit can be provided by electrolytic deposition , if desired . a resist is applied to produce a prescribed circuit pattern , and any exposed copper foil is then etched away , leaving the circuit pattern and through - hole interconnections . the resist may or may not then be removed , depending on further plating requirements , such as gold plating of connector tab areas on the circuit , solder coating , etc . although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail , it is to be understood that these are primarily for purposes of illustration . modifications may be made to the particular conditions and components disclosed , consistent with the teaching herein , as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , for adaptation to particular applications .