The difference between electroless nickel plating and electroplating nickel

The difference in principle between electroless plating and electroplating is that electroplating requires an external current and anode, while electroless plating relies on the autocatalytic reaction that occurs on the metal surface. The electroless nickel plating layer is extremely uniform. As long as the plating solution can be soaked and the solute exchange is sufficient, the plating layer will be very uniform, and the effect of profiling can almost be achieved.

Electroplating cannot be used to coat the whole surface of some complicated workpieces, but electroless plating can be used to plate any workpieces.

The high-phosphorus electroless nickel plating layer is amorphous, and there is no crystal gap on the surface of the plating layer, while the electroplating layer is a typical crystalline plating layer.

Electroplating is faster than electroless plating because of the applied current, and the plating of the same thickness is completed earlier than electroless plating.

The bonding force of the electroless plating layer is generally higher than that of the electroplating layer.

Since most of the electroless plating uses food-grade additives and does not use harmful substances such as cyanide, electroless plating is more environmentally friendly than electroplating.

Electroless plating currently has only one color of pure nickel-phosphorus alloy on the market, while electroplating can achieve many colors.