Patent ID: 7578888

Claim:
A method for treating a plastic substrate surface to remove unintentional metal seed deposits, the method comprising: contacting the plastic substrate surface with a process solution to remove said unintentional metal seed deposits; wherein the plastic substrate comprises a) circuit paths formed on the plastic substrate by laser structuring, and b) said unintentional metal seed deposits; wherein the process solution comprises water, phosphoric acid, and a mixture of at least one wetting agent; and wherein the at least one wetting agent is selected from the group consisting of oleyl ethoxylate, fatty alcohol ethoxylate, alkylphenol ethoxylate, phosphoric acid ester, alkylphenol ether sulfate and their sodium salts, fatty acid condensation products and their sodium salts, alkylbenzene sulfonate, alkanolamine salt, alkane sulfonate and its sodium salt, fatty amine ethoxylate, fatty alcohol alkoxylate, propylene oxide-ethylene oxide block polymer, ethylene oxide-propylene oxide block polymer, dimethyl fatty alkylbenzylammonium chloride, alkyl polyethylene glycol ether, alkyl glucosides, oxo alcohols, coco fatty acid diethanolamide, oleic acid diethanolamide, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, linear alkylbenzenesulfonic acid, alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkane sulfonates, fatty alcohol sulfates, fatty alcohol ether sulfates, olefin sulfonates, ester sulfonates, alkyl phosphates, alkyl ether phosphates, fatty alcohol ethoxylates, alkyl phenol ethoxylates, fatty amine ethoxylates, fatty acid ethoxylates, fatty acid ester ethoxylates, other alkoxylates, alkanolamides, sugar surfactants, amine oxides, fluorine surfactants, alkali salts of fatty acids, and mixtures thereof.