Black Electroless Nickel - NiKlad Eclipse

NiKlad Eclipse

“A proven process to give a uniform

black Electroless Nickel Deposit”

History....

• There is a demand for Black Electroless Nickel coatings, and there has been for decades

• In the past black EN deposits were typically created by using Nitric Acid, but it was never very successful– Inconsistent results were common

– The deposits were smutty, and the color was uneven

– The corrosion resistance of the deposits were very poor

History....

Edax Scan of EN treated with Nitric Acid

A New Process......NiKlad Eclipse

• NiKlad Eclipse is a new Black ElectrolessNickel process– It is nitric acid free

– Produces an adherent, even black deposit

– Exhibits excellent corrosion performance when combined with a high phosphorous Electroless Nickel and a passivationlayer.

– It is ELV, WEEE and RoHS compliant

– The deposit produced is a complex Ni/P/Oxide. The black

colour of Ni-P coating is due to the unique surface morphology

combined with the formation of the nickel oxides and nickel

phosphate)

• It has been running in major production for over three

years (producing over ¾ of a million connectors for commercial

use)

Typical NiKlad Eclipse Process

• EN Plate in high phosphorus NiKlad process

• EN Plate NiKlad ELV 824 min 8ums.

• Immerse in NiKlad Eclipse solution– R.T.

– 60 – 120 secs

– Gentle agitation

• Dry

• Passivate or topcoat (Optional)

NiKlad Eclipse Deposit Characteristics

As Plated NiKlad ELV 824


2 minute immersion in NiKlad Elcipse


a b


Electroless nickel coating (8um thickness Single layer low Ni-P only)

Black oxidised layer (<1µm)

Base material

NiKlad Eclipse Deposit Characteristics.....

• Black measured at 22 on the L.A.B. color space scale – Scale goes from 0 – 100

• 0 = complete black 100 = complete white

• 94-96% absorption rate and 4-6% emissivity

• Deposit has excellent corrosion protection

• Deposit is conductive

• Deposit is UV stable

• Deposit is abrasion resistant

• Color may be lost in corrosion tests unless

passivated

NiKlad Eclipse Performance

• Corrosion resistance of the process is excellent

• Duplex system can easily achieve >1000 hrs NSS on

steel, brass and aluminium

• Passivated deposit electrochemical corrosion

resistance is comparable to EN plating alone

Effect Eclipse and passivation on 824

0

5

10

15

20

25

NiKlad ELV 824 Eclipse Eclipse + Passivation

Process

Ico

rr (

uA

/cm

2)

NSS Test Matrix

NiKlad Eclipse 500 hrs NSS (per ASTM B117)


6061 Al panels

Duplex EN coating

12.5 um High phosphorous

12.5 um NiKlad ELV 824

NiKlad Eclipse

Cathodic passivate

Steel Parts after 1000 hrs NSS using passivation


NiKlad Eclipse Conductivity Testing

NiKlad Eclipse Deposit Conductivity

Layer 1 Layer 2 Conductivity (mV)

HP 20 ums NiKlad Eclipse 2.25

HP 30 ums NiKlad Eclipse 2.12

MP ELV 20 ums NiKlad Eclipse 2.21

MP 20 ums NiKlad Eclipse 2.34

NiKlad Eclipse Hardness

• Hardness/Abrasion Resistance– As plated the Eclipse is soft, ~ 2B

– Drying over time (3 days) or in the oven

gives ~2H

– Passivation gives >8H (harder than most

lacquers)

Hardness of Black EN

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Plated 190°C for 2hs Plated 190°C for 2hs

Hard

ness H

v100

NiKlad Eclipse Passivation

• Passivation

– The passivation of NiKlad Eclipse is carried out

using a cathodic hexavalent chrome solution

– Critical factors are

• Voltage

• Time

• Temperature

• Solution movement

• Rinsing


• Surface analysis after passivation– XPS process measures the first 3 – 5 nm of the coating

Sample C O Ni P Cr

NiKlad Eclipse

No Electrotarnil

B

10.6 50.8 20.9 17.7 -

NiKlad Eclipse +

Electrotarnil B

11.5 61.8 3.7 7.0 16.0


• Surface analysis after passivation

NiKlad Eclipse + Electrotarnil B

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Binding Energy / eV

Co

un

ts

C1s

O1s Cr2p

P2p

Ni2p

NiKlad Eclipse Passivated Deposit

• No hexavalent

chrome present– By XPS

– By GM 3045

• A combination of

chrome oxide and

chromium

hydroxide.

• RoHS compliant

deposit

Typical Parts Processed with NiKlad Eclipse

NiKlad ELV 849Bright 7-9 % ELV Medium Phos EN

Bright Mid Phos EN

• Brightness range from 140-

110 Gloss Units

• RoHS, ELV and WEEE

compliant

• Wide operating window –

easy to operate

• Consistent plating rate

NiKlad ELV 849

• Gloss in Gloss units

– Brightness range is 140 – 111 GU

NiKlad ELV 849

Gloss Meter

• Gloss is measured at a 20 degree angle

NiKlad ELV 849

• Plating Rate

– Consistent plating rate for the entire bath life

• 0.75 – 0.6 mil/hr

NiKlad ELV 849

• As plated hardness

– Comparable to conventional Medium Phos EN

• 500 – 600 HK 100 or 50 – 56 Rc

• After heat treatment at 400C for 1 hour

– Comparable to conventional Medium Phos EN

• 850 – 950 HK 100 or 66 - 69 Rc

• As plated wear

– 22 – 26 mg/1000 cycles

• After heat treatment at 400C for 1 hour

– 14 – 18 mg/1000 cycles

NiKlad ELV 849

• Density 8.2 g/cm

• Phosphorus Content 7-9 weight percent

• Hardness: (as plated) 500 - 600 HK100

(heat treated @ 400 C for 1 hour) 850-950 HK100

• Wear Resistance:(as plated) 22-26 TWI *

(heat treated @ 400 C for 1 hour) 14-18 TW* TWI -- “Taber Wear Index” is the weight loss in mg per 1000 cycles

• Magnetic Tendency Slightly Magnetic

• Electrical Resistivity 70-90 cm

• Corrosion Resistance1 >96 hrs 25μm deposit

• Nitric Acid Resistance2 Fail • 1ASTM B117 performed on flat panel.

• 2If the deposit darkens in concentrated nitric acid after 30 seconds it is considered a failure.

Thank You For Your Attention

For more information please contact

John Szczypka

[email protected]

Black Electroless Nickel - NiKlad Eclipse

Technology

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