Nickel Alloy Coating

Table of Contents☰

Why in news?

A new method of deposition of Nickel alloy coatings on high-performance materials in engineering applications can replace environmentally toxic chrome coatings. The coatings obtained are also highly corrosion-resistant and useful for the plastic ware industry.
The process used pulsed current electroplating, which is environmentally benign with high production capacity.
They have used electric current in the form of pulses of a duration of a few milliseconds for electroplating purposes.
The process consists of an environment-friendly electrolyte consisting of nickel and tungsten ions that is the source of strengthening elemental tungsten (W) and nickel (Ni).
The pulsed current is applied between the components to be coated, acting as a cathode and a non-consumable anode.

Advantages of the new method:

The pulsed current effect was used for nano-crystalline coatings wherein high instantaneous current density for a very small duration resulted in a high rate of nucleation.
The coatings were virtually porosity free, crack free with minimal hydrogen uptake.
The use of pulsed current resulted in the nano-crystallization of nickel tungsten alloy coatings with high hardness (700-1200 HV) and wear resistance.
The coatings were extremely corrosion-resistant and could withstand up to 700 hrs of salt spray.
The coatings can withstand temperatures up to 500°C without thermal softening and can improve the life of die components by at least two times than conventional chrome plating.

Key facts about Nickel

It does not occur freely in nature.
It is found in association with copper, uranium and other metals.
It is an important alloying material.

Q1) What is an alloy?

A metal alloy is a substance that combines more than one metal or mixes a metal with other non-metallic elements.For example, brass is an alloy of two metals: copper and zinc.

Source: The new technique of corrosion-resistant nickel alloy coatings can replace toxic chrome plating