Synthesis and properties of electrodeposited Ni-B-CeO2 composite coatings

Abstract

Ni-B coatings have decent properties like high hardness, wear resistance and decent anticorrosion properties which make them suitable for automotive, aerospace, petrochemical, textile and electronics industries. In the present study, novel Ni-B-CeO2 composite coatings were synthesized through electrodeposition process using dimethylamine borane (DMAB) as a reducing agent. The compositional analysis of the developed coatings was carried out by inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The structural and morphological characterization of the coatings was conducted with XRD and SEM respectively. The structural analysis shows that the Ni-B coatings in their as deposited states are amorphous. However, Ni-B-CeO2 coatings are well crystalline. The study of surface morphology reveals the formation of uniform and fine-grained deposits having dispersed second phase particles. The results of nanoindentation shows that the addition of CeO2 to Ni-B coatings results in remarkable improvement in hardness which may be attributed to dispersion hardening of nickel-boron matrix by CeO2 particles.