Metallization process for making fuser members

1. A process for forming a fuser member, comprising:

providing a substrate, wherein the substrate is a heat-resistant resin;

treating the substrate with a catecholamine coating solution to form a polycatecholamine layer;

electroless plating a thin metallized layer on the polycatecholamine layer by immersing the treated substrate into an electroless metal plating solution, wherein the polycatecholamine layer comprises a polymer product obtained from copolymerization of the catecholamine and an aminosilane coupling agent; and

electroplating the pre-metallized substrate in a metal plating solution to form a uniform metal layer on the thin metallized layer.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the catecholamine is selected from the group consisting of dopamine, norepinephrine, dihydroxyphenylalanine, polydopamine, and mixtures thereof.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the aminosilane coupling agent is selected from the group consisting of 3-aminopropyltrialkoxysilane, 3-aminopropyldialkoxymethylsilane, aminoethylaminopropyltrialkoxysilane, and mixtures thereof, wherein the alkoxy is selected from the group consisting of methoxy, ethoxy, and propoxy.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the catecholamine coating solution possesses a pH value of from about 2 to about 10.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating solution comprises an electroless platable metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, and silver.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating solution further comprises a reducing agent.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the reducing agent is selected from the group consisting of hypophosphite, a hydrazine compound, an aldehyde compound, hydrogen borate, hydroxylamine, and a borane compound.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating is repeated to form a thin metallized layer comprising a first metal being silver and a second metal being selected from the group consisting of copper and nickel.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the plating solution for electroplating comprises a platable metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, and cobalt.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the resin comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyimide, an aromatic polyimide, polyether imide, polyphthalamide, and polyester.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the thin metallized layer formed by the electroless plating has a thickness of from about 5 nanometers to about 3000 nanometers.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the uniform metal layer has a thickness of from about 5 micrometers to about 100 micrometers.

13. A process for forming a fuser member, comprising:

providing a polyimide substrate;

treating the polyimide substrate with a polymer solution comprising a dopamine compound and an aminosilane coupling agent, to form a polydopamine layer;

immersing the treated substrate into an electroless metal plating solution to form a thin metallized layer on the polydopamine layer; and

electroplating the substrate to form a uniform metal layer on the thin metallized layer.

14. The process of claim 13 , wherein the uniform metal layer comprises an electroplated copper layer with a thickness of from about 5 micrometers to about 50 micrometers, and an electroplated nickel layer with a thickness of from about 5 micrometers to about 50 micrometers.

15. The process of claim 13 further including depositing, in sequence, a first adhesive layer over the uniform metal layer, an elastic layer comprised of a silicone polymer over the adhesive layer, a second adhesive layer over the elastic layer, and an outmost releasing layer comprised of a fluoropolymer over the second adhesive layer, the fluoropolymer further comprising a monomeric repeat unit that is selected from the group consisting of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, tetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroalkylvinylether, and mixtures thereof.