The beneficial role of silica nanoparticles addition as reinforcing agent on the various properties of the novel developed Ni-Ba-B coating was highlighted. Barium was considered as third element to act as an inhibiting alloying element for anodic passivation purposes. The ternary Ni-Ba-B coatings in three different concentrations of silica nanoparticles (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g/L) were coated on St 37 steel substrate in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The effect of nanoparticles on morphology and structure was investigated by FE-SEM, XRD and AFM tests. The nodularity and surface roughness of the coating increased by the presence of SiO2 nanoparticles in the electroless bath. The nanocomposite coating has amorphous and crystalline phases and its XRD peak at 44.50 is slightly sharper than the composite coating. DSC thermogram showed two exothermic peaks demonstrating its phase transformations. The WCA value of coating was confirmed its hydrophilicity property. Results also confirmed that the existence of silica nanoparticles results in an increase in the microhardness and corrosion resistance which may be attributed to the distribution of silica nanoparticles into Ni-Ba-B matrix.
