Electrodeposition of amorphous Ni-P layers, thermal treatment and corrosion behaviour

The investigation reported comprises an experimental study of the thermal and corrosion properties of electrodeposited nickel-phosphorus amorphous alloy layers. The structure of the species was determined by means of X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Samples with hypo- and hyper-eutectic compositions were synthesised out of modified classical and customised electrolytic solutions on copper substrates. The composition of the samples was determined via energy dispersive spectroscopy. A short review of the development of the composition of existing plating baths for Ni-P electrodeposition has also been presented. Thermal treatment of the samples has been carried out to crystallise the amorphous structure and to compare the thermal and the corrosion properties of the species with both types of structure. Differential thermal measurements were used to examine the thermal effects in the Ni-P samples obtained. The corrosion parameters of initial as-plated and thermally treated binary Ni-P alloy coatings were determined from Tafel plot analysis.