The use of an emulsified supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) bath for electrodeposition of Ni-P alloys was attempted. The material characteristics of the deposits with various P contents, formed by varying the electrolyte composition and deposition current density, were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for surface morphology and chemical composition and crystal structure analyses. The experimental results showed that the presence of sc-CO2 in the electrodeposition bath could substantially improve the microhardness and the corrosion performance of the as-deposited Ni-P coatings. The roles of phosphorus and carbon in modifying the material properties of the deposits are discussed in detail. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.