Synthesis and characterization of Ni-P/TiC composite coating through one step co-electrodeposition

Abstract

Coatings are considered to be promising solution for the corrosion and wear in various industries.NiP coatings are well known for their anticorrosive behavior but lack mechanical strength. In present study, the effect of sub microscale TiC particles on the structural, morphological , mechanical and electrochemical analysis of Ni-P/TiC coating were carried out through X-ray diffraction(XRD), Scanning Electron microscopy(SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy(AFM), Vickers microhardness, nanoindentation and potentiodynamic polarization test on Gamry. Co-electrodeposition of the Ni-P/TiC with varying the composition of TiC namely 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0g/L. The depostion conditions were optimized for pH, temperature and current density. The surface morphology of coat represents nodular structure with TiC particles embedded in it without any defects. Structural analysis proves the amorphous nature of the coating. Vickers microhardness is observed to increase with the composition and attains highest value at 1.5g/L of TiC in the chemical bath. Nanoindentation results are in agreement with the hardness result. Thus, improvement in mechanical properties of the Ni-P coating is achieved without affecting its corrosion resistance.