Optimizing the mass gain percentage during Ni electroless deposition on the SiC ceramic particles

The deposition of metals on the ceramic particles has attracted many attentions in recent years, which cause better wettability of ceramics during casting of metal matrix composites. In this study, the effect of electroless parameters have been investigated on the amount of mass gain during deposition of Ni on the SiC particles. For this purpose, pH, bath temperature, and particle size were considered as the process parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for characterizing the deposited particles. In addition, response surface method was used for optimizing the process parameters using Design Expert software. The results revealed that the particle size had more effect on the mass gain compared to the pH and bath temperature. Increasing particle size and decreasing both pH and bath temperature caused larger amount of mass gain. The best condition for the electroless deposition of the Ni on the SiC ceramic particles was determined as particle size of 80 μ m, bath temperature of 50 °C, and pH of 8.