Tue, 03 January, 2023
TWI has developed an electroless nickel-phosphorus plating (ENP) composite coating for demanding applications as part ongoing geothermal related research projects such as Geo-Coat, Geo-Drill, and GEOHEX.
ENP coating is used in many industries, including aerospace, oil and gas, geothermal, construction, and electronics, owing to its exceptional mechanical and tribological properties such as high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance.
By controlling the microstructure, ENP coating properties such as resistance to wear and corrosion, antifouling, anti-scaling, or their combination can be tuned. This can be achieved through tailoring the alloy chemistry (varying the phosphorous contents, incorporation of nanoparticles), post-plating heat treatment, etc. The incorporation of nanoparticles can enhance coating functionalities such as hydrophobicity, high hardness, and wear resistance with low coefficient of friction (CTE), etc.
TWI has developed the capability to produce EN composite coatings (by incorporating PTFE nanoparticles homogeneously in nickel-phosphorous based coating,s as shown in Figure 1) for applications requiring anti-fouling properties, hydrophobicity (Figure 2), wear and corrosion resistance.
Figure 1. Representative images of ENP-PTFE composite coating. (left) A back scattered electron (BSE) image of the cross-section of the duplex coating on a steel substrate (1: steel substrate; 2: Ni-P undercoat; 3: Ni-P-PTFE topcoat); dark features in the topcoat correspond to PTFE functional nanoparticles. (right) High resolution BSE image of the Ni-P matrix with embedded PTFE nanoparticles
Figure 2. Static water contact angle measurement on Ni-P-PTFE composite coating demonstrating its hydrophobic nature
With our large suite of facilities that include corrosion and tribological testing laboratories, heat treatment furnaces, and advanced characterisation tools, TWI is uniquely placed to offer advice and expertise on ENP coating for broad ranging applications.
We can further assist in developing bespoke surface modification solutions by optimising the coating performance through ENP coating deposition, characterisation, and testing.
If you are interested to know more about this coating development or any other aspects related to it, please do not hesitate to contact us, using the email address below.
The Geo-Coat project was funded by the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement, no. 764086
The Geo-Drill project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 815319
The GEOHEX project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 851917