The Ni–P-B ternary coating was prepared on steel specimens through electroless deposition and their microstructural and tribo-mechanical properties were investigated. Heat treatment of the as plated coating was carried out at 390 C to realize its effect on microstructural, mechanical, tribological properties of the coating. Microstructural analysis was carried out to study phase structure, morphology, topography, and coating compositions by using XRD, FESEM, AFM, and EDS. Contact angle measurement was also performed to evaluate the wetting behavior of the coatings. The as-plated coating exhibited hydrophobic character with a contact angle of∼96.7, whereas the heat-treated coating resulted in hydrophilic character with a contact angle of∼79.5. Mechanical and tribological properties were evaluated by using Vickers microhardness, nanoindentation, and dry sliding friction test. It is observed that the heat treatment process has an excellent impact on mechanical and tribological properties. Heat-treated ternary coating resulted in higher hardness (6 GPa) than as-plated coating (5 GPa). Similarly, higher young’s modulus was also achieved in the heat-treated coating (232 GPa) during nanoindentation experiments. Profound improvement in tribological performance is executed in both coatings over steel specimens. Maximum up to∼33% and∼45% decrement in COF is observed for as-plated and heat-treated Ni-P-B ternary coatings respectively. Due to greater hardness in heat-treated samples, the formation of the protective bilayer is observed along wear tracks as harder third particles created a strong adhesive bond by plastic deformation. The non-uniformity of the protective layer in the as-plated coating leads to higher COF and wear depth compared to heat-treated coating. Residual third particles behaved as micro cutters for as-plated coating while rolling effect is observed in case of heat-treated ternary coating.

Ni-PB 三元涂层通过化学沉积在钢试样上制备，并研究了它们的显微结构和摩擦力学性能。镀层的热处理在 390 C 下进行，以实现其对涂层的微观结构、机械、摩擦学性能的影响。使用 XRD、FESEM、AFM 和 EDS 进行微观结构分析以研究相结构、形貌、形貌和涂层成分。还进行接触角测量以评估涂层的润湿行为。镀层表现出疏水性，接触角为~96.7，而热处理后的涂层表现出亲水性，接触角为~79.5。通过使用维氏显微硬度、纳米压痕、和干滑动摩擦试验。据观察，热处理过程对机械和摩擦学性能有极好的影响。热处理三元涂层的硬度 (6 GPa) 高于镀层 (5 GPa)。同样，在纳米压痕实验期间，热处理涂层 (232 GPa) 也实现了更高的杨氏模量。与钢试样相比，这两种涂层的摩擦学性能都得到了显着改善。对于镀态和热处理的 Ni-PB 三元涂层，观察到的 COF 最大分别降低了 33% 和 45%。由于热处理样品的硬度更高，随着较硬的第三颗粒通过塑性变形产生强粘合力，沿磨损轨迹观察到保护双层的形成。与热处理涂层相比，镀层中保护层的不均匀性导致更高的 COF 和磨损深度。残留的第三粒子表现为镀层的微刀具，而在热处理三元涂层的情况下观察到滚动效应。