Electroless nickel coatings are widely used in the chemical, mechanical, and electronic industries because of their excellent wear and abrasion resistance. In this study, the effect of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles on composite coatings was investigated. To improve mold lubrication, Ni-P-PTFE composite coatings with various PTFE content were studied. The results showed that the incorporation of PTFE particles increased when the PTFE content increased from 5 g/L to 20 g/L; particularly when the content of PTFE was 20 g/L, the incorporation was found to be the highest at 12.23 wt.%. On the other hand, when the content of PTFE was 30 g/L or more, the incorporation amount decreased. The increase and decrease in the amount of incorporation are higher due to the precipitation effect when the content of the particles is proper. However, when the concentration of particles was higher than a certain value, the incorporation amount decreased because of inter-particle interference and inter-particle collisions. Tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical and friction properties. The observed friction characteristics revealed that the electroless Ni-P-PTFE composite coatings had relatively low friction coefficients.

Keywords: PTFE, Electroless deposition, Ni-P, Hardness, Composite, Corrosion, Friction, Wear