Method for surface treatment prior to metallization

A method for treating a surface of an object comprising the sequential steps of:

• a) heating the object
• b) contacting at least a part of the surface of the object with a solution comprising a thermal initiator and polymerizable molecules,
• wherein the surface of the object comprises reactive groups selected from abstractable hydrogen atoms and C═C double bonds,
• wherein the polymerizable molecules are able to undergo a reaction with the reactive groups on the surface of the object to form a covalent bond,
• wherein the polymerizable molecules are able to undergo a polymerization reaction to form a polymer,
• wherein the object is heated at least to a temperature where the thermal initiator is active,
• wherein the polymerizable molecules are covalently bound to the surface of the object in step b), by a reaction initiated by the thermal initiator in combination with heat from step a),
• wherein the covalently bound polymerizable molecules comprise a charge,
• wherein the at least a part of the surface of the object is contacted with the solution by at least one of the methods selected from the group consisting of spray, inkjet, wire bar applicator, padprint, curtain coating, brush, rolling, or dipping,
• c) contacting the polymerizable molecules with at least one type of metal ions, wherein the metal ions have a charge with an opposite sign compared to the charge of the covalently bound polymerizable molecules, and
• d) reducing the metal ions to elemental metal.