Boriding of nickel by the powder-pack method

Boriding of nickel (Ni) has been performed by means of a powder-pack method using boriding powder that contains no silicon. In this study, the boride layer was analyzed with an X-ray diffractometer and electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). We studied the high-temperature hardness and the friction and wear characteristics of the layer. The results showed that the boride layer was composed of Ni2B and that the high-temperature hardness of borided Ni was higher than that of untreated Ni. The friction and wear properties of Ni were improved by boriding.