Methods and systems for electroless plating a first metal onto a second metal in a molten salt bath, and surface pretreatments therefore

A method for anionic etching a second metal without use of a reductant, the method comprising:

• providing a bath vessel holding a dry salt mixture, the dry salt mixture comprising a dry salt medium and without the reductant therein;
• heating the dry salt mixture to form a molten salt bath;
• disposing a cathode in the bath vessel;
• disposing the second metal in the molten salt bath as an anode;
• coupling a power supply to the anode and the cathode, wherein the power supply produces a current flow that causes etching of the second metal to produce an etched second metal;
• and then
• electroless plating a pure coating of a first metal which is Ni onto the etched second metal in another molten salt bath comprising the dry salt medium and a dry salt medium of the first metal, and without a reductant therein, wherein the second metal is more electronegative than the first metal, and the second metal is disposed in the another molten salt bath and receives a pure, uniform coating of the Ni first metal thereon in a single step by the electroless plating in the another molten salt bath.