Effect of plating time on surface morphology and coating thickness of nickel plating on copper surface

In the present work, Ni thin films were deposited by electrodeposition method on copper substrate. The coating time was varied systematically in the range of 10 – 25 minutes during the deposition process resulting in variation in coating microstructure and properties. Structural properties and morphological studies were investigated by using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. Coatings were analyzed for their variation in current efficiency and coating thickness with plating time. XRD peaks were observed to be broad and short indicating nanosized coating. The morphology of coating was observed to be made of smaller primary nodules and large secondary nodules. The secondary nodules were observed to be of coffee bean structure. With the increase in plating time, the secondary nodules growth rate was observed to increase forming a truncated pyramid kind of structures, leading to increased roughness. Plating of Ni by electrodeposition has an advantage due to its porous nature of coating leading to self-lubrication effect.