Study on factors affecting the nickel plating process on titanium alloy substrates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54939/1859-1043.j.mst.110.2026.136-142Keywords:
BT6 titanium alloy; Nickel plating; Heat treatment of titanium alloy; Titanium alloy plating.Abstract
This paper presents the results of research on the factors influencing the electroless nickel plating process on BT6 titanium alloy. Prior to plating, the titanium alloy surface is activated, etched, and zincated using a solution consisting of ZnF2 (85 g/L), HF (40%, (60 g/L), and Ethylene glycol (500 mL/L) at a temperature of 25 °C for 1 minute. The electroless nickel plating is performed using a solution of NiCl2 (10 ÷ 50 g/L), KF (10 g/L), and Glycine (30 g/L) with a pH of 2.8 ÷ 3.2. Research results indicate that at a NiCl2 salt content of 20 ÷ 30 g/L and a plating time of 10 ÷ 15 minutes, the coating surface is quite smooth and uniform, with nickel crystals tightly adhered to the surface. Post-plating heat treatment conducted between 400 ÷ 415 °C promotes the formation of intermetallic phases and transition zones between the layers, enhancing the durability of the Ni coating on the titanium alloy substrate.
References
[1]. C.Veiga et al, "Properties and applications of titanium alloys: a brief review", Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci, Vol. 32. No.23. p.133-148, (2012).
[2]. Ashkan Vakilipour Takaloo et al., "A Mechanism of Nickel Deposition on Titanium Substrate by High Speed Electroplating", Proceedings of the 12th World Conference on Titanium, On May 21,At Beijing, China. pp.1920-1924, (2011).
[3]. A. K. Sharma and H. Bhojaraj "Electroless nickel and gold plating on titanium alloys for space applications", Metal finishing, Vol. 90. No. 7. pp. 23-36, (1992).
[4]. M. Thoma, "Plating on Titanium Alloys", SAE International, Vol. 94, No. 4, pp, 187-192, (1985).
[5]. Q. Liu, S. Song, G. Wu, Y. Chen ,"Effect of different pretreatment processes on the properties of copper plating on titanium alloy tubing surface", EChT/iFhTSE 2015 Conference, 20-22 May 2015, Venice, pp. 5-12, (2016).
[6]. Daniel Garstenauer, Klaus W. Richter, "A revision of the Ni-Zn phase diagram based on vapor-solid diffusion experiments", Journal of Alloys and Metallurgical Systems, Vol. 8. No. 18, Article. 100116, (2024).
[7]. P. Paul et al, "Diffusion-controlled growth mechanism of phases and the microstructural evolution in the Ni-Zn system", Materials Characterization, Vol. 202, Article. 112982, (2023).
[8]. G.P Vassilev et al,"Reaction kinetics and phase diagram studies in the Ti–Zn system", Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 375, No. 1 , pp. 162-170, (2004).
[9]. Wei Wang et al, "Phase equilibria of Zn−Al−Ti ternary system at 450 and 600 °C", Transtion of Nonfeeous Metals Society of China, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 1005−1016, (2020).
[10]. Shuang-Lin Chen, Y.A. Chang, "A thermodynamic analysis of the Al-Zn system and phase diagram calculation”, Calphad, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp, 113-124, (1993).
[11]. H. Xu et al, "Phase equilibria of the Al–Ni–Zn system at 340 °C", International Journal of Materials Research, Vol. 99, No. 6, pp. 644-649, (2008).
