Literatureo ne lectroless Ni-P deposition, in recent decades, has dwelled primarily on surface engineering and corrosion-resistant applications. By contrast, we havemany researcharticles devoted to the engineering aspects of the electroless Ni-P depositions and their technology. The present article deals with the development of electroless Ni-P bath,a dvantages and mechanisms of deposition, and applications of the Ni-P deposits. We also present acomparison of the properties of electroless Ni-P and Ni-B as well as the recent developments in nickel-phosphorous research. We attempt to review these in ad etailed manner.W ea lso briefly discuss the future developments of electroless Ni-P.

Electroless deposition process has undergone numerous changes to meet the challenging needs for a variety of industrial applications ever since the invention of the process during 1947. Among the various metals that can be electrolessly plated, electroless nickel has proved its supremacy for producing coatings with high corrosion resistance, hardness, wear resistance and uniformity. Electroless nickel can be deposited from a variety of baths and the coating properties depends upon the type of reducing agents and other deposition conditions. Electroless nickel-boron coatings have received considerable interest nowadays because of the superior hardness, corrosion and wear resistance characteristics. In this paper, the authors have reported on the development of a biodegradable electroless Ni-B bath and evaluated its characteristic properties. The influence of bath constituents, temperature and pH on the rate of deposition was studied. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy techniques were employed to find out the deposit morphology and boron content in the deposits. The hardness and wear resistance of the deposits were evaluated in the as deposited and heat treated conditions. The influence of sodium hypophosphite as reducing agent on the Ni-B deposit has also been studied. The use of nickel methane sulphonate as the metal ion source increases the bath lifetime without adversely affecting the deposit qualities. Annealing the Ni-B deposit at 400uC for one hour resulted in an increase in the hardness and thereby the wear resistance. The corrosion resistance of as plated electroless Ni-B deposit is higher than the heat treated deposits. Also, the corrosion resistance is highly enhanced by the incorporation of phosphorous to the nickel-boron alloy coating.

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Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2010; 92: 665-667 665A major determinant of patient satisfaction following surgery to the upper limb is an acceptable cosmetic result. 1 Both absorbable and non-absorbable suture materials are available for wound closure. Absorbable sutures do not require removal and may, therefore, save clinic time and reduce patient anxiety postoperatively. Non-absorbable sutures may be less likely to elicit an inflammatory response or break prematurely. The aim of this study was to evaluate prospectively aesthetic outcomes in a group of randomised patients undergoing elective day-case hand and wrist surgery using either absorbable or non-absorbable sutures. Patients and MethodsOne hundred adult patients presenting to our unit for daycase hand and wrist surgery were included in the study. Patients on steroids or those who had medical problems affecting wound healing (such as diabetes mellitus) were excluded as were those undergoing revision procedures. All patients were under the care of a single consultant hand surgeon who routinely utilised both absorbable and nonabsorbable wound closure for upper limb surgery. Following informed consent, patients were randomised using a sealed envelope technique to receive either absorbable (3/0 Vicryl rapide™, Ethicon, UK) or nonabsorbable sutures (3/0 nylon) for their wound closure. Wound closure was performed using interrupted skin sutures in each case. No subcutaneous sutures were used. Fifty patients were included in each group. The demographics of each group along with the procedures performed are summarised in Table 1 We prospectively evaluated aesthetic outcomes in a group of randomised patients who underwent elective daycase hand and wrist surgery using either absorbable or non-absorbable sutures. PATIENTS AND METHODS A cohort of 100 adult patients were randomised using sealed envelopes to receive either absorbable or non-absorbable sutures for their wound closure. Clinical review was carried out at 6 weeks. A postal questionnaire was sent to all patients 3 months following surgery comprising a visual analogue scale (VAS) for wound satisfaction, a validated 6-point patient scar assessment tool and the shortened version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire (QuickDASH). RESULTS From the postal questionnaire, 70 responses were received. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of VAS, patient scar assessment tool and quick DASH. CONCLUSIONS For elective day-case hand and wrist surgery, either suture material can be used confidently with respect to overall aesthetic appearance in such patients.

Electroless plating have unique metallurgical characteristics, and the deposits can be made onto a wide range of substrates, including both metallic and non-metallic surfaces. In this paper, the authors have reported on the development of new bath formulation for getting Ni-Co-P nanoalloy deposit and optimised bath concentration and operating conditions. The alloy deposit contains 10?59%Co in the Ni-P matrix. There is an increase in hardness and corrosion resistance of the deposit with the incorporation of Co. Furthermore, from the XRD measurements of the deposits, it was found that the alloy is nanocrystalline in nature, and the particle size is around 37-45 nm. Atomic force microscopy results show that the height of the particles is in nanosize, and roughness of the surface is within 3 nm.