Atmospheric plasma activation enhanced electroless Ni-P plating on binderless WC

TY - JOUR

T1 - Atmospheric plasma activation enhanced electroless Ni-P plating on binderless WC

AU - Khan, Muneeb

AU - Zhou, Tianfeng

AU - Yu, Qian

AU - Guo, Weijia

AU - He, Yupeng

AU - Zhao, Bin

AU - Zhang, Yongjie

AU - Deng, Hui

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors.

PY - 2026/3

Y1 - 2026/3

N2 - Precision glass molding (PGM) requires high-performance binderless tungsten carbide (WC) molds, but its extreme hardness and poor machinability hinders direct precision structuring. Introducing a Ni-P plating layer as a machinable and protective interface offers a feasible solution. This study investigates the efficacy of atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma activation for improving the uniformity, surface quality, corrosion resistance, and adhesion of electroless Ni-P plating on binderless WC substrate. Compared to traditional Pd activation method, AP plasma activation significantly increases the surface energy of the binderless WC substrate, promoting uniform Ni-P nucleation and growth. The resulting Ni-P plating exhibits improved thickness (up to 98 μm, a 145 % increase over Pd-activation), high homogeneity (with surface roughness Ra reduced to ∼20 nm post-plating, compared to ∼2.2 μm for Pd-activation), and formation of Ni2P and Ni3P strengthening phases confirmed via XRD. Scratch tests demonstrate excellent adhesion between the Ni-P plating and the plasma-treated substrate, with no delamination or cracking under a progressive 15 N load, unlike Pd-activated substrate which suffers severe failure due to hydrogen embrittlement. This study advances the understanding of electroless Ni-P plating on AP plasma activated binderless WC, which will further facilitate its integration into PGM mold production for improved molding performance and durability.

AB - Precision glass molding (PGM) requires high-performance binderless tungsten carbide (WC) molds, but its extreme hardness and poor machinability hinders direct precision structuring. Introducing a Ni-P plating layer as a machinable and protective interface offers a feasible solution. This study investigates the efficacy of atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma activation for improving the uniformity, surface quality, corrosion resistance, and adhesion of electroless Ni-P plating on binderless WC substrate. Compared to traditional Pd activation method, AP plasma activation significantly increases the surface energy of the binderless WC substrate, promoting uniform Ni-P nucleation and growth. The resulting Ni-P plating exhibits improved thickness (up to 98 μm, a 145 % increase over Pd-activation), high homogeneity (with surface roughness Ra reduced to ∼20 nm post-plating, compared to ∼2.2 μm for Pd-activation), and formation of Ni2P and Ni3P strengthening phases confirmed via XRD. Scratch tests demonstrate excellent adhesion between the Ni-P plating and the plasma-treated substrate, with no delamination or cracking under a progressive 15 N load, unlike Pd-activated substrate which suffers severe failure due to hydrogen embrittlement. This study advances the understanding of electroless Ni-P plating on AP plasma activated binderless WC, which will further facilitate its integration into PGM mold production for improved molding performance and durability.

KW - Atmospheric pressure plasma activation

KW - Binderless WC

KW - Electroless Ni-P plating

KW - Mold material

KW - Palladium activation

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105023952908

U2 - 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.108542

DO - 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.108542

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105023952908

SN - 2590-1230

VL - 29

JO - Results in Engineering

JF - Results in Engineering

M1 - 108542

ER -