High emittance black nickel coating on copper substrate for space applications

Black nickel, an alloy coating of zinc and nickel, is obtained on copper substrate by pulse electrodeposition from a modified Fishlock bath containing nickel sulphate, nickel ammonium sulphate, zinc sulphate and ammonium thiocyanate. A nickel undercoat of 4-5 μm thickness is obtained using Watts bath to increase the corrosion resistance and adhesion of the black nickel coating. The effect of bath composition, temperature, solution pH, current density and plating time on the coating appearance and corresponding infra-red emittance of the coating is investigated systematically. Process parameters are optimized to develop a high emittance space worthy black nickel coating to improve the heat radiation characteristics. The effect of the chemistry of the plating bath on the coating composition was studied using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) of the coatings. The 5-6 μm thick uniform jet black zinc-nickel alloy coating obtained with optimized process exhibited an emittance of 0.83 and an absorbance of 0.92. The zinc to nickel ratio of black nickel coatings showing high emittance and appealing appearance was found to be in the range 2.3-2.4.