Title: Effect of surfactants on the surface roughness, hardness and microstructure of electroless (Ni-P) coatings

Authors: R. Elansezhian, B. Ramamoorthy, P. Kesavan Nair

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering Section, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering Section, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India. ' Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India

Abstract: The effect of surfactants on the surface roughness, hardness and microstructure of electroless nickel-phosphorus (ENi-P) coating obtained from an alkaline bath is presented in this paper. In this study the influence of surfactants such as Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) and Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) on the electroless Ni-P coated samples has been investigated. The variation on surface morphology was examined using Scanning Electron Microscope (HRSEM), surface roughness were measured using a stylus instrument and surface hardness were measured using a hardness tester. It was observed that the surface roughness, surface hardness and surface morphology of ENi-P coating were clearly influenced by the surfactants.

Keywords: surface roughness; surface morphology; hardness; microstructure; surfactants; SDS; sodium dodecyl sulfate; CTAB; cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide; electroless Ni-P coatings; nickel-phosphorus coatings.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSURFSE.2008.020485

International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, 2008 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.179 - 189

Published online: 27 Sep 2008 *

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