Assessment on the microhardness and corrosion resistance characteristics of Ni-SiC and Ni-MWCNT coatings by pulse reverse electrodeposition technique

Abstract

The characteristics of Silicon carbide (SiC) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nano composite coatings by a Pulse Reverse Electrodeposition (PRE) method is investigated in detail to enhance the microhardness (MH) and corrosion resistance characteristics of AISI 304 stainless steel substrate. The electrodeposition nature, dissolution behavior, surface characteristics are assessed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), x-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Microhardness (MH) Test and Electrochemical studies. The coatings are prepared in the watts type bath using pulse reverse electrodepositions (PRE) method of varying the electrolyte deposition parameters in different combinations. Present results clearly reveal that, there is a drastic improvement in the magnitude of microhardness of coated specimens, silicon carbide (SiC) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite coatings yield a maximum hike of 91.6% and 168% respectively. Furthermore, the Nyquist and impedance plots clearly depict that, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) exhibits higher corrosion resistance characteristics. Recently, nanomaterial's like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained significant focus as the incorporating filler to endow the composite coatings with functional properties such as smoothness [12], better hardness [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], lower coefficient of friction [13], better wear and resistance [12,15], corrosion resistance [14,19], higher compressive strength [16] and good flexibility [20,21].Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [22, 23] possess excellent mechanical characteristics, such as high tensile strength, elastic modulus, thermal and electrical conductivity. The study into the practical applications of CNTs OPEN ACCESS RECEIVED

Assessment and effect of reinforcement of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in Ni-Al2O3 and Ni-SiC nanocomposite coatings using pulse reverse electrodeposition technique

“…Based on the data and facts available in the literature, the reverse-pulse parameters are kept constant throughout the study and the percentage of CNTs are varied in this research work. The optimal pulse parameters [30] used in the research work are listed in Table 1 for reference. The base substrate material is used as a cathode and the top layer of the cube shaped sample alone is exposed for coating.…”

Enhanced performance of electrodeposited Ni-SiC plating as an alternative to electroplated chromium deposits: the effect of pulse duty cycle

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“…Nickel coatings reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the subject of studies due to the search for enhanced corrosion protection properties [39][40][41][42] . The use of carbon nanotubes is widely explored due to their remarkable mechanical properties 43,44 and electrical conductivity 45 .…”