Electroless deposition of nickel boron coatings using morpholine borane as a reducing agent

Abstract

Nickel boron (NiB) coatings were deposited onto copper using a nickelglycine (Ni-Gly) plating solution and morpholine borane (MB) as a reducing agent. It has been determined that using MB as a reducing agent in the Ni-Gly plating solution produces NiB coatings, which exhibit typical cauliflower-like textures. The deposition rate of the NiB coatings and their composition depend on the concentrations of the reducing agent (MB) and the ligand (Gly), in addition to the pH and temperature of the plating solution. The highest deposition rate (3.42 mg cm^–2 h^–1) of the NiB coating was obtained when the plating bath was operated at pH 5 and 60°C temperature. Using this method, NiB coatings containing 10–20 at.% of boron can be obtained.