Synthesis, characterization, and infrared-emissivity study of Ni–P–CB nanocomposite coatings by electroless process

Abstract

The Ni–P–CB (carbon black) nanocomposite coatings have been successfully deposited on an ABS plastic matrix via electroless plating process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrometry techniques were employed to examine the surface morphology and structure of the as-plated coating. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was adopted to obtain the component analysis of the Ni–P–CB composite coating, and the infrared emissivity of the coating was determined by the IRE-I Infrared Emissometer. SEM and XRD results indicated that the nanoparticles were dispersed homogeneously in the Ni–P coating; the result of EDS showed that the increased rate of CB content is in correspondence with its concentration. In the case that CB concentration is lower than 4 g/L, the increase rate is sharp, whereas when the concentration is higher than 4 g/L, the increase rate is reduced significantly. Furthermore, study of infrared emissivity shows that the nanocomposite coatings possessed low emissivity value. A comparison of the infrared emissivity dependence on surface resistivity obtained from the analysis of the experimental results and those calculated using the Hagen–Rubens relation indicates that the Hagen–Rubens relation is good for modeling the infrared emissivity of the Ni–P–CB nanocomposite coatings.