Electroless nickel deposition from methane sulfonate bath

Electroless plating is a controlled autocatalytic chemical reduction process for depositing metals. The process involves a continuous build up of a nickel coating on a substrate by immersion of the substrate in a suitable nickel plating under appropriate conditions. In this paper the authors have studied the effect of pH and temperature on the rate of deposition and phosphorous content from nickel methane sulfonate bath. Effect of phosphorous content on hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance were also studied. SEM and XRD measurements show nodular and amorphous character of the deposits. As the bath is free from sulfate ions the bath can be operated for more number of turn overs and orthophosphite formed during the process can be removed easily.