Abstract:

A mechanically assisted electroless barrel-plating Ni-P was carried out in a rolling drum containing Mg alloy specimens and ceramic balls, which was submerged in a bath containing electroless plating solution. It is demonstrated that the Ni-P coatings deposited by this novel technique have a crystallized Ni-P solid solution structure, showing fine-grains, higher hardness, and higher corrosion resistance compared with the conventional electroless plated amorphous Ni-P coatings. After heat treatment at 400℃ for 1 h, the structure of such Ni-P coatings were transformed to a structure with Ni-Ni₃P double phases, and cracks in these coatings could not be observed, whereas cracks appeared seriously in the conventional electroless plated Ni-P coating after same heat treatment. Therefore, both hardness and corrosion resistance of these Ni-P coatings can be improved further by heat treatment. All of these beneficial effects can be attributed to the role of mechanical attrition during the mechanically assisted electroless barrel-plating process.

Key words: Mechanically assisted electroless barrel-plating, Ni-P coating, Crystallization, Corrosion resistance, Microhardness