Deposition of Ni3P nano-scale layer on B4C nanoparticles in four
contents of sodium hypophosphite as reducing agent including 5, 10, 15 and 30 g/l via
electroless coating were done to investigate the effect of reducing agent content on the
coating thickness of deposited Ni3P. The bath pH and temperature was 5.5 and 85
°C, respectively and the coating time was 25 min. The powders were characterized by
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the phases present were revealed by X-ray
diffraction (XRD). Nickel and phosphorous contents of the coatings were measured by
inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP). The results revealed that by increasing the
reducing agent content from 5 g/l to 30 g/l the average coating thickness increased from
19 nm to 28 nm. Although the increasing effect of adding sodium hypophosphite content was
preserved, there is a critical amount for sodium hypophosphite content to increase the
coating thickness.