Investigation of the Tribological and Mechanical Properties of Electroless Ni-P-hBN Nano-Composite Coating

Plain carbon steel is the most important group of engineering alloys with a wide range of applications. Electroless Ni-P coating has been attracting extensive attention because it exhibits excellent wear and corrosion resistance for steel. The present study aims to steel coating with a nanocomposite of nickel-phosphorus-hexagonal boron nitride (Ni-P-hBN) and investigate the abrasion and corrosion resistance, and its adhesion to the substrate. For this purpose, the nickel-phosphorus electroless coating was used as a substrate, and hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles as a modifier. The coating properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The results showed that boron nitride with 3 g/L concentration afforded the best coating performance with a friction coefficient of 0.19.