Effect of synthesis conditions and post-deposition treatments on composition and structural morphology of medium-phosphorus electroless Ni-P films

► Deposition of Ni-P films at high film growth rate using nickel chloride as source. ► Effect of temperature, bath pH, and reducing agent concentration were examined. ► Heat treatment to obtain homogeneous, crystalline and hard coatings. ► Acid etching to produce spectrally selective surfaces with high absorption. ► SEM, AFM, XRD were used for structural and compositional characterization of films.