An Experimental Study on the Effect of Aqueous Hypophosphite Pre-Treatment Used on an Aluminium Alloy Substrate before Electroless Nickel Plating

A new surface pre-treatment procedure has been developed in one of our laboratories [1] for electroless nickel (EN) plating, which appears to be an effective and environmentally benign treatment for the following deposition of a sound and high quality surface nickel coating with good adhesion. For that purpose, the aluminium substrate was immersed in a mildly acidic solution (lactic acid) of sodium hypophosphite in order to modify the passive surface and make it suitable for the reductive chemical precipitation of the nickel-phosphorus nuclei from the electroless nickel plating bath. During this novel pre-treatment technique, the surface adsorption of the hypophosphite anions play an important role therefore several advanced surface testing and analytical techniques (Scanning Electron Microscopy-SEM, Transmission Electron Microscopy-TEM, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry-EDX, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy-XPS were applied in order to monitor and characterize the surface reactions and adsorption phenomena taking place during the pre-treatment. The Al excited XPS (studying P 2p, O 1s, C 1s, Al 2p, Ni 2p photoelectron lines) proved to be one of the most powerful technique in the identification of the chemical species formed and present on the surfaces examined in this study.

Download Full-text

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PRETREATMENTS TO ELECTROLESS NICKEL OR COBALT PLATING ON HOLLOW MICROSPHERES

International Journal of Modern Physics B ◽

10.1142/s0217979210065507 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 (15n16) ◽

pp. 2706-2711

Author(s):

YAN ZHAO ◽

RUN ZHANG ◽

TONG ZHANG ◽

YUEXIN DUAN

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Single Step ◽

Chemical Compositions ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

X Ray ◽

Surface Morphologies ◽

Electroless Ni ◽

Scanning Electron

Different pretreatment methods for electroless nickel and cobalt plating are demonstrated and compared in the present investigation. The surface morphologies of the nickel or cobalt deposits are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the chemical compositions of the coatings are analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Method of single-step pretreatment is selected as the optimized method for electroless nickel plating process, while improved two-step sensitization-activation and single-step pretreatment methods can be selected for electroless cobalt plating. It can be found that the content of free Co is much lower compared to electroless Ni plating.

Download Full-text

Fabrication and Research of Electroless Nickel Plating on Carbon Fiber with Palladium-Free Activation

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.148-149.410 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 148-149 ◽

pp. 410-415

Author(s):

Xiao Ping Luo ◽

Ming Gang Zhang ◽

Chun Xiang Lv

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Carbon Fiber ◽

Fiber Surface ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

Adhesive Properties ◽

Nickel Deposition ◽

X Ray ◽

Electroless Ni

A new procedure of surface activation without using palladium salt is proposed for electroless nickel plating (Ni-P) on carbon fiber. The optimal formula and technical conditions for palladium-free activated electroless Ni-P were obtained by orthogonal experiments. The effects of nitric acid processing time on the quality of nickel coating was investigated .The effects of varying concentrations of Ni2 + on the rate of weight gain during the Ni2 + complex adsorption process were also analyzed and the kinetic equation of the process was established. The theoretical values calculated by the equation were proven to be consistent with the experimental verification. The material characteristics of the deposited layers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tensile strength of the carbon fibers was analyzed by the Weibull method, and this showed that when the thickness of the Ni-P coating reached 0.150μm, the tensile strength reached a maximum value. The experimental results showed that the nickel deposition on the carbon fiber surface obtained by this method, had the same uniformity, compactness and adhesive properties as the one by conventional electroless Ni-P.

Download Full-text

2-Mercaptobenzimidazole, 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole, and Thioglycolic Acid in an Electroless Nickel-Plating Bath

Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1155/2015/872516 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Ahmet Ozan Gezerman ◽

Burcu Didem Çorbacıoğlu

Keyword(s):

Waste Water ◽

Electroless Plating ◽

Thioglycolic Acid ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Optical Microscope ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

Plating Bath ◽

Bath Solution ◽

Microscope Images

The use of three different materials, 2-mercaptobenzimidazole, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, and thioglycolic acid, was investigated to improve the performance of electroless nickel-plating baths. By changing the concentrations of these materials, sample plates were coated. Optical microscope images were obtained by selecting representative coated plates. From the results of the investigations, the effects of these materials on electroless nickel plating were observed, and the most appropriate amounts of these materials for nickel plating were determined. Moreover, the nickel plating speed observed with the bath solution containing 2-mercaptobenzimidazole, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, and thioglycolic acid is higher than that in the case of traditional electroless plating baths, but the nickel consumption amount in the former case is lower. In order to minimize the waste water generated from electroless nickel-plating baths, we determined the lowest amounts of the chemicals that can be used for the concentrations reported in the literature.

Download Full-text

Effects of Surfactants in an Electroless Nickel-Plating Bath on the Properties of Ni−P Alloy Deposits

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research ◽

10.1021/ie0105831 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 41 (11) ◽

pp. 2668-2678 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

B.-H. Chen ◽

L. Hong ◽

Y. Ma ◽

T.-M. Ko

Keyword(s):

Electroless Nickel ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

Plating Bath

Download Full-text

Effect of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids for Electroless Nickel Plating on Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Plastic

Materials Science ◽

10.5755/j01.ms.25.3.20116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 276-280

Author(s):

Canan URAZ

Keyword(s):

Ionic Liquid ◽

Ionic Liquids ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Room Temperature Ionic Liquids ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

X Ray ◽

Butadiene Styrene

In this study, electroless nickel (EN) plating on acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) engineering plastic using room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) was studied. Electroless plating is a fundamental step in metal plating on plastic. This step makes the plastic conductive and makes it possible to a homogeneous and hard plating without using any hazardous and unfriendly chemical such as palladium, tin, etc. In the industry there are many distinct chemical materials both catalysts and activation solutions for the electroless bath which is one of the most important parts of the process. In this study the effects of the ionic liquid, plating time, and sand paper size were investigated on electroless nickel plating. The etching and the plating processes were performed with environmentally friendly chemicals instead of the chromic and sulphuric acids used in the traditional processes. Experiments were carried out with and without ionic liquid, EMIC, 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride (C6H11N2Cl), and with 400, 500 and 800 grit sandpaper with the application of the sand attrition process and 70, 80, and 90 °C bath temperatures with 30, 60, and 90 minutes of deposition time. The surface morphology and the thickness of deposit analysis were performed using the Fischer scope X-Ray XDL-B System, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Due to the results of the experiments and analysis, the electroless nickel plating on ABS plastic was a success. The best plating was obtained at 5.010 μm as the maximum plating thickness, at 90 min of plating time and 80 °C as the plating bath temperature for electroless nickel plating on ABS plastic whit the surface activated with 800 grit sandpaper using EMIC ionic liquid. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.25.3.20116

Download Full-text

Continuous Nickel Recovery from Spent Electroless Nickel Plating Bath by Solvent Extraction

Journal of The Surface Finishing Society of Japan ◽

10.4139/sfj.62.554 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (11) ◽

pp. 554 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mikiya TANAKA ◽

Hirochika NAGANAWA ◽

Sumitaka WATANABE ◽

Hideaki KUMANO

Keyword(s):

Solvent Extraction ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

Plating Bath ◽

Nickel Recovery

Download Full-text

A ZERO-EMISSION ELECTROLESS NICKEL PLATING BATH

Surface Review and Letters ◽

10.1142/s0218625x18501305 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (01) ◽

pp. 1850130

Author(s):

WANMIN LIU ◽

QILONG LIU ◽

LV XU ◽

MULAN QIN ◽

JIYONG DENG

Keyword(s):

Phosphorus Content ◽

Electroless Nickel ◽

Raw Material ◽

Electroless Nickel Plating ◽

Nickel Plating ◽

Hypophosphorous Acid ◽

Plating Bath ◽

Excellent Corrosion Resistance ◽

Zero Emission ◽

Better Than

A zero-emission electroless nickel plating bath was investigated, which consisted of nickel hypophosphite, hypophosphorous acid, lithium acetate, citric acid and maleic acid. The bath stability, bath life and plating rate were 68.0[Formula: see text]min, 8 cycles and 13.39[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m/h, respectively. The Ni–P plating layer showed smooth appearance with lots of small continuous nodules, with 12.23[Formula: see text]wt.% phosphorus content. The electrochemical measurements showed that the deposit exhibited excellent corrosion resistance. All of these properties of the zero-emission plating bath and its deposit were better than those of the popular plating solution and its layer. It is most significant that the spent plating bath can be used directly as a raw material to prepare LiFePO4/C materials, which conforms to the concept of circular economy.

Download Full-text