Effect of electroless plating nickel treatment on electrode properties of Zr-based AB_2 type alloy

An electroless plating nickel treatment was processed to improve the active behaviors and discharge capacities of Zr based AB 2 alloys. The effects of the nickel coating on the surface appearance, the structure of the alloy powders and the electrode characteristics were investigated. It is found that the Ni rich layer formed through electroless plating nickel treatment plays an important role on the initial activation property and the discharge capacity of Zr based alloy. The optimal content of electroless plating nickel is about 15%, and the discharge capacity of the electrode can be increased to 400?mA·h·g -1 after 6 cycles. Although coated nickel is beneficial for quick activation and discharge capacity, excessive electroless plating nickel can result in a decreased discharge capacity.

Electroless Nickel Plating and Electroplating on FBG Temperature Sensor

Metal-coated fiber Bragg grating（FBG）temperature sensors were prepared via electroless nickel（EN）plating and tin electroplating methods on the surface of normal bare FBG.The surface morphologies of the metal-coated layers were observed under a metallographic microscope.The effects of pretreatment sequence,pH value of EN plating solution and current density of electroplating on the performance of the metal-coated layers were analyzed.Meanwhile, the Bragg wavelength shift induced by temperature was monitored by an optical spectrum analyzer.Sensitivity of the metal-coated FBG（MFBG）sensor was almost two times that of normal bare FBG sensor.The measuring temperature of the MFBG sensor could be up to 280℃,which was much better than that of conventional FBG sensor.

Comparison Between Electrolysis and Reduction for Treatment of Spent Electroless Nickel Plating Bath

There are lots of residual nickel and organic compounds in the spent electroless nickel plating bath. It not only wastes resource but also causes environmental pollution if the wastewater is discharged without treatment. In this paper, electrolytic method and reduction method for treating spent electroless nickel plating bath were compared. The factors studied included reaction time, pH, temperature, effectiveness and cost. It was found that the recovery rate of nickel by reduction was 99.9% under the condition ofpH 6, 50℃ for 10 min. The purity of reclaimed nickel was 66.1%. This treatment needed about 16 g NaBH4 for a liter spent solution, which cost RMB 64 Yuan. For electrolysis method, with pH 7.6, 80℃, 0.45 A （current intensity） for 2 h, the recovery rate reached 97.3%. The purity was 88.5% for the reclaimed nickel. Moreover, it was found that through electrolysis, the value of TOC （Total Organic Carbon） decreased from 114 to 3.08 g·L^-1 with removal rate of 97.3%. The main cost of electrolysis came from electric energy. It cost about 0.09 kWh （less than RMB 0.1 Yuan） per liter wastewater. Compared with reduction, electrolysis had more advantages, so the priority of selection should be given to the electrolysis method for the treatment of spent electroless nickel plating bath.

Surface characteristics of electroless nickel plated electromagnetic shielding wood veneer

Wood is a kind of porous natural material with very poor electro-conductivity, and it has almost no function of electromagnetic shielding. The method of electroless nickel plating was used to produce wooden material with electrical and effective electromagnetic shielding properties. Ni-P alloy layer was obtained on wood surface. The surface feature of plated wood veneer was observed by SEM and the surface composition and microstructure of the layer under different conditions were investigated by EDS and XRD respectively. Meanwhile, the relevant surface resistivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were measured. Correlations of the phosphorous content in the layer to the structure of Ni-P alloy, electro-conductivity and electromagnetic shielding of plated veneers were discussed. SEM photos showed that the surface of electroless nickel plated veneers were covered with Ni-P alloy layer entirely, which made wood veneers more like metal. At the same time, the results showed that with the decreasing of the phosphorous content in the layer, the microstructure of Ni-P alloy layer transformed to be microcrystalline and electro-conductivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were improved. When the phosphorous content was less than 2.37wt pct in the layer, the microstructure of Ni-P alloy layer was microcrystalline structure and its sur- face resistivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were nearly 0.5Ω/□ and 55-60dB respectively.

Characterization and Properties of Electroless Nickel Plated Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Nonwoven Fabric Enhanced by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Pretreatment

In order to develop a more economical pretreatment method for electroless nickel plating, a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） plasma at atmospheric pressure was used to improve the hydrophilicity and adhesion of poly （ethylene terephthalate） （PET） nonwoven fabric. The properties of the PET nonwoven fabric including its liquid absorptive capacity （WA）, aging behavior, surface chemical composition, morphology of the surface, adhesion strength, surface electrical resistivity and electromagnetic interference （EMI）- shielding effectiveness （SE） were studied. The liquid absorptive capacity （WA） increased due to the incorporation of oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing functional groups on the surface of PET nonwoven fabric after DBD airplasma treatment. The surface morphology of the nonwoven fibers became rougher after plasma treatment. Therefore, the surface was more prone to absorb tin sensitizer and palladium catalyst to form an active layer for the deposition of electroless nickel. SEM and X-ray diffraction （XRD） measurements indicated that a uniform coating of nickel was formed on the PET nonwoven fabric. The average EMI-SE of Ni-plating of PET nonwoven fabric maintained a relatively stable value （38.2 dB to 37.3 dB） in a frequency range of 50 MHz to 1500 MHz. It is concluded that DBD is feasible for pretreatment of nonwoven fabric for electroless nickel plating to prepare functional material with good EMI-SE properties.

Electrochemical Study of Hypophosphite

Electrochemical behavior of hypophosphite was studied with cyclic voltammogram in acidic solution(pH = 4.6) at 80℃. Two anodic peaks were observed on gold electrode at - 0.44V and - 0.59 V (SCE),respectively, and no corresponding cathodic peaks were obtained. The one at - 0.44 V wits ascribed to the oxidation oftautomeric form of hypophosphite, the other at - 0.59 V was due to the oxidation of absorbed form of hypophosphite. The two oxidation reactions were believed to be the electron source of nickel ion reduction in electrolessnickel processes.