What is the electroless nickel plating process?
Electroless nickel coatings are extensively used in the metal plating industry as the physical properties of the coatings (uniformity, corrosion resistance and lubricity) are better than electroplated nickel and the process can be used deposit metal coatings in situations which electrodeposition is not possible e.g. on plastics. Electroless nickel plating is a process whereby a nickel coating is deposited on a surface in a controlled chemical reduction; the process is termed “electroless” because the electrons are supplied by a chemical reducing agent and not electrically. The overall equation for the deposition of nickel by the reducing agent sodium hypophosphite can be written as: NiSO4 +2NaH2PO2+2H2O ——–> Ni+2NaH2PO3- +H2+ H2SO4 The nickel reduction only takes place on specific catalytic surfaces including nickel itself, which makes the reduction process autocatalytic. The reducing agent used for electroless plating not only supplies the electrons for the reduction, but some el
