Preparation of Core-Shell Structured Cobalt Coated Tungsten Carbide Composite Powders by Intermittent Electrodeposition

Core-shell structured cobalt coated tungsten carbide（WC/Co） composite powders were prepared by intermittent electrodeposition. The influence of process parameters such as current density, single deposition pulse, p H value and surfactants on the formation of WC/Co was investigated and characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, electrochemical station, acidometer and X-ray diffraction（XRD） techniques.The composite powders with 54% cobalt content were fabricated at a current density of 16 A dm-2, with a load of 10 g dm-3WC powders and a stirring speed of 600 r min-1at an operation temperature of 40 ± 2 °C,and 90% current efficiency was obtained with a single deposition pulse of 1.5 min and single stirring pulse of 2 min during 12 min efficient electrodeposition time. The uniformly distributed WC/Co powders could be obtained in the cobalt electrolyte containing 300 mg dm-3PEG-2000. The spherical cobalt grains coated WC particles were prepared in the p H 4-5 electrolyte at the Co deposition rate of 0.58 g min-1. A practical process for high efficient production of WC/Co powders by electrodeposition was developed in the present work.

Effect of activators on the properties of nickel coated diamond composite powders

Nickel coated diamond composite powders were fabricated via a newly developed direct electrodeposition technique. The effects of activators on the coating of diamond were firstly investigated and diamond grinding wheels were then prepared from Ni-coated diamond composite powders with different activators. The microstructural characterizations of this composite powders were finally conducted by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, and the mechanical and tribological properties of as-prepared diamond grinding wheels were also measured. There are changes in microstructures and properties of the composite powders with activators. The activator concentration also has an influence on the morphologies and phase structures of the Ni coating on diamond particles.The composite powders with more compact coating of nickel can be prepared by adding 1 g dm^（-3） or more AgNO_3 as an activator to electrodeposit nickel on diamond. The mechanical and tribological properties of diamond grinding wheels were significantly improved when the coating phase structure of Ni crystal grew with（111） plane orientation on the surface of diamond particles. The wheels made from nickel coated diamond composite powders possessed the advantages of easy preparation and outstanding tribological properties. Therefore, Ni coated diamond composite powders exhibit a great potential to be extensively applied in diamond cutting and grinding tools.

Controllable phase transformation and improved thermal stability of nickel on tungsten substrate by electrodeposition

Present study reports a controllable phase transformation of nickel(Ni) from amorphous to cubic crystal structures on tungsten(W) substrate by electrodeposition. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize the microstructure, micro-constituents and surface morphology of as-prepared Ni. The microstructure of Ni was strongly affected by the applied overpotential and deposition time. It is demonstrated that by controlling these two parameters either amorphous or cubic crystal structure of Ni on the W substrate could be obtained. The crystallization mechanism is discussed based on Gibbs crystal growth theory and Ostwald’s rule. It is concluded that W substrate, acting as a heat sink, can effectively promote the thermal stability of amorphous Ni, based on the data from differential scanning calorimetry and Kissinger’s model. This work contributes to the elucidation of the crystallization mechanism of Ni on W powder substrates, and proves that, better than alloying with other elements, incorporating powder substrates will significantly improve the crystallization temperature, hence the thermostability of amorphous Ni.

Effect of iron ion configurations on Ni^(2+) removal in electrocoagulation

Electrocoagulation(EC)has been widely used to treat the heavymetal wastewater in industry.A novel process of sinusoidal alternating current electrocoagulation(SACC)is adopted to remove Ni2+in wastewater in this study.The morphology of precipitates and the distribution of the main functional iron configurations were investigated.Ferron timed complex spectroscopy can identify the monomeric iron configurations[Fe(a)],oligomeric iron configurations[Fe(b)]and polymeric iron configurations[Fe(c)].The optimal operating conditions of SACC process were determined through single-factor experiments.The maximum Ni2+removal efficiency[Re(Ni^(2+))]was achieved under the conditions of pH0=7,current density(j)=7 A/m^(2),electrolysis time(t)=25 min,c0(Ni^(2+))=100 mg/L.At pH=7,the proportion of Fe(b)and Fe(c)in the system was 50.4 at.% and 23.1 at.%,respectively.In the SACC process,Fe(b)and Fe(c)are themain iron configurations in solution,while Fe(c)are the vastmajority of the iron configurations in the direct current electrocoagulation(DCC)process.Re(Ni2+)is 99.56% for SACC and 98.75% for DCC under the same optimum conditions,respectively.The precipitates produced by SACC have a high proportion of Fe(b)configurations with sphericalα-FeOOH andγ-FeOOH structures which contain abundant hydroxyl groups.Moreover,it is demonstrated that Fe(b)has better adsorption capacity than Fe(c)through adsorption experiments of methyl orange(MO)dye.Fe(a)configurations in the homogeneous solution had no effect on the removal of nickel.