Effect of preparation operation on coating of SiC powder by electroless nickel plating

Effect of preparation operation on coating of SiC powder by electroless nickel plating

Silicon carbide (SiC) with high melting temperature, high hardness, excellent thermal shock resistance, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity and high elastic modulus is considered a suitable reinforcement for high temperature applications. One of the problems of industrial application of SiC in the production of composite materials is its poor wettability by the melt of many metals. Among the many methods that are used today to solve this problem, the method of electroless plating and coating on the surface of SiC particles is a simple, cheap and efficient method. How to prepare a stable electroless plating bath is very important. So, in this article, different methods of making a stable electroless nickel plating bath for SiC powder coating were investigated. The best conditions were achieved by first dissolving the nickel salt in water and then adjusting the pH of the solution to the desired level and adding silicon carbide powder to it at the desired temperature. Add reducing agent at the end of the process. In this case, a stable electroless plating bath is obtained.