Effect of Cu addition on the microstructure, thermal stability, and corrosion resistance of Ni-P amorphous coating

Ni-P and Ni-Cu-P amorphous coatings were prepared by electroless plating. The effect of Cu addition on the microstructure, thermal stability, and corrosion resistance of Ni-P amorphous coating was investigated. Results showed that Ni-Cu-P coating has higher corrosion resistance and thermal stability than Ni-P coating. Although the ordered cluster size of Ni-Cu-P amorphous coating is larger than that of Ni-P coating, the corrosion resistance of Ni-Cu-P is superior to that of Ni-P binary coating. This result indicates that aside from cluster size, the composition also affects the corrosion resistance of amorphous materials.