Formation mechanism of electroless plating nickel-based composite coating on highly active rare earth magnesium alloys and its corrosion resistance and adhesion performance

The process of preparing anodic oxide film containing active sites and electroless nickel plating on highly active rare earth magnesium alloy was developed.The formation mechanism of electroless nickel plating on active anodic oxide film and the structure and properties of the composite coating were studied by several surface and electrochemical techniques.The results showed that Ag nanograins with an average size of 10 nm were embedded into the anodic oxide film with pores of 0.1−2μm.Ag nanoparticles provided a catalytic site for the deposition of Ni-B alloy,and the Ni crystal nucleus was first grown in horizontal mode and then in cylindrical mode.The corrosion potential of the composite coating increased by 1.37 V and the corrosion current reduced two orders of magnitude due to the subsequent deposition of Ni-P alloy.The high corrosion resistance was attributed to the misaligning of these micro defects in the three different layers and the amorphous structure of the Ni-P alloy in the outer layer.These findings provide a new idea for electroless nickel plating on anodic oxide film.

High corrosion and wear resistant electroless Ni–P gradient coatings on aviation aluminum alloy parts

A Ni–P alloy gradient coating consisting of multiple electroless Ni–P layers with various phosphorus contents was prepared on the aviation aluminum alloy. Several characterization and electrochemical techniques were used to characterize the different Ni–P coatings’ morphologies, phase structures, elemental compositions, and corrosion protection. The gradient coating showed good adhesion and high corrosion and wear resistance, enabling the application of aluminum alloy in harsh environments. The results showed that the double zinc immersion was vital in obtaining excellent adhesion (81.2 N). The optimal coating was not peeled and shredded even after bending tests with angles higher than 90°and was not corroded visually after 500 h of neutral salt spray test at 35℃. The high corrosion resistance was attributed to the misaligning of these micro defects in the three different nickel alloy layers and the amorphous structure of the high P content in the outer layer. These findings guide the exploration of functional gradient coatings that meet the high application requirement of aluminum alloy parts in complicated and harsh aviation environments.

Microstructure and properties of nanocrystalline nickel coatings prepared by pulse jet electrodeposition

The fabrication of nanocrystalline nickel coatings was conducted by pulse jet electrodeposition on the substrate of 45# carbon steel.The effects of average current density on the surface morphology,microstructure,average grain size and microhardness of nickel coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffractometry(XRD)and microhardness measurement.In addition,the corrosion resistances of coating and substrate were compared.It is revealed that the nickel coatings prepared by pulse jet electrodeposition exhibit a fine-grained structure with a smooth surface and a high density,although some pores and defects are still present in coatings.With the increase of average current density,the average grain size of nickel coatings is reduced at first and then increased.The coating with the optimum compactness,the smallest average grain size(13.7 nm)and the highest microhardness are obtained at current density of 39.8 A/dm2.The corrosion resistance is obviously increased for the coatings prepared by pulse jet electrodeposition;however,the corrosion rate is increased after a certain period due to the penetration of the corrosive media.

Effect of nano-size nickel particles on wear resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance of ultrafine ceramic coating

In order to improve the wear resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance of titanium and titanium alloy, the high temperature ultra fine ceramic coating containing nano-size nickel particles was prepared by flow coat method on the surface of industrially pure titanium TB1-0. The effects of nano-size nickel particles on the wear resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance of coating substrate system were investigated through oxidation kinetics experiment and wear resistance test. The morphologies of the specimens were examined by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the high temperature ultra fine ceramic coating has notable protection effect on industrially pure titanium TB1-0 from oxidation. The oxidation and wear resistance properties of the coating can be effectively improved by adding nano-size nickel particles. The oxidative mass gain of the specimen decreases from 11.33 mg·cm-2 to 5.25 mg·cm-2 and the friction coefficient decreases from 1.1 to 0.6 by adding nano-size nickel particles, and the coating containing 10% （mass fraction） nano-size nickel shows the optimum properties.

A Nickel Coating Removal Process for ITER Superconducting Cables

A new method is developed for removing the nickel coating on ITER superconducting cables by mechanical polishing.The obvious advantage of the mechanical method,which uses a nylon brush,is that there is no chemical residual left in the cable,which would otherwise result in passive effects on the joint resistance.The coating resistance test results of this newly developed method are compared with those of the two other methods that can meet the requirements of ITER.An automatic polishing machine is designed and manufactured for the procedure to provide quality under precise control.This new technique can replace the conventional manual method due to its improved efficiency.

Nickel and nickel-phosphorous matrix composite electrocoatings

Nickel and nickel-phosphorous matrix composite coatings reinforced by TiO2,SiC and WC particles were produced under direct and pulse current conditions from an additive-free Watts' type bath.The influence of the variable electrolysis parameters(type of current,frequency of current pulses and current density) and the reinforcing particles properties(type,size and concentration in the bath) on the surface morphology and the structure of the deposits was examined.It is demonstrated that the embedding of ceramic particles modifies in various ways the nickel electrocrystallisation process.On the other hand,Ni-P amorphous matrix is not affected by the occlusion of the particles.Overall,the imposition of pulse current conditions leads to composite coatings with increased embedded percentage and more homogenous distribution of particles in the matrix than coatings produced under direct current regime.

Study of Technology of Stripping Nickel Coating on NdFeB Permanent Magnet

The influences of category and density of reagents, temperature and the value of pH in the solution of stripping the nickel coating on NdFeB permanent magnet on the stripping result were studied systematically.The practical formular contains mainly the oxidant m-O2NC6H4SO3Na, the complex reagent ( NaOOCCH2 ) 2N( CH2 ) 2N( CH2COOH)2,the reagent of retarding corrosion KF and the calatyze RL-3 was obtained.

TiB2 coating formed on nickel substrates by electroplating in molten salt of fluoride

The TiB2 coatings deposited over nickel substrate by electroplating was investigated, which is in molten salt of a fluoride mixture involving KF, NaF, K2 TiF6 and KBF4. Effects of temperature, cathodic current density (Jc) and duration on the coating's formation were examined. The composition, morphology and structure of the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the coatings, with black, smooth and uniform appearance, are composed of predominating TiB2 and small amounts of nickel titanium oxide (Ni0.75 Ti0.125 O). The coatings show a nodular morphology and the grain size is dependent on the Jc and ranges about 1 - 10 μm. There is a linear relationship between the coating's thickness and the time of electrolysis within certain duration range. The reduction of the potassium can take place simultaneously with the electrochemical synthesis of TiB2 as the Jc is in excess of certain level. The hardness of the TiB2 coatings is likely to be deteriorated due to the presence of potassium and Ni0.75Ti0.125 O in the coatings.

Research on Laser Gladded Nickel Based Nanometer Tungsten Carbide Composite Coating

CO2 laser is adopted on the surface of austenitic stainless steel (ICrlSNiQ) to clad nickel based nanometer WC/Co composite coating. SEM, EDAX, XRD, AFM and Scratch Testers are adopted to conduct analysis and research on the microstructure, composition, phase and bonding strength of the coating. Results indicate that the microstructure of coating is metallurgically bonded with stainless steel base, eliminating porosities and cracks. The coating has a considerable quantity of nanometer particles visible with a granularity ^lOOnm under a nanoscope atomic microscope. The bonding strength of the laser cladded coating is remarkably improved respectively compared with conventional hot-sprayed coating and spray welding. The nanometer effect of nanometer WC/Co introduced into the coating plays an important role in the laser cladding processes.

Forming limits of nickel coating on right region

The forming limits of nickel coating on the right region were studied, so as to direct the preparation of the material and help the production of workpieces. The electrodeposited nickel coating was prepared on steel substrate to form advanced structures, and its plastic instability was investigated by the Swift Plastic Instability Theory. By using the compound law for laminated sheet metals, explicit equations for the calculation of the instable eigen values were deduced. The forming limit diagrams of the nickel coating on the right region were plotted. It is exhibited that the forming limit of the coating sheet is between the forming limits of the individual nickel coating and steel substrate. The forming limit of the nickel coating is not so good as that of the steel substrate, and the forming limit strain of the coating sheet tends to diminish with the increase of thickness of the coating. The greater the normal anisotropic coefficient of the materials is, the better the forming limit is.

Na_2SO_4- and NaCl- Induced Hot Corrosion Behaviors of a Nickel-Base Superalloy with Aluminide Diffusion Coating

Hot-corrosion behaviors of nickel-base superalloy and aluminide diffusion coating have been investigated in conditions of contents of Na2SO4 and NaCI molten salts at 900℃ by means of XRD and SEM. Hot-corrosion scale of the superalloy and aluminide diffusion coating were analyzed and their surface morphologies were observed. The results demonstrate that both coated and uncoated specimens are not susceptible to various contents of NaCI. That may be resulted from the AI2O3 scale formation. Growth stress was characterized by the formation of convoluted scales.

Effect of Rare Earth Elements on Depositing Rate of Nickel Alloy Brush Plating Coatings

The effect of four kinds of rare earth elements on the depositing rate of Ni-based alloy brush plating coatings was investigated. The results indicate that all of the selected rare earth elements increase the depositing rate of Ni-based alloy coatings, and Sm increases the depositing rate most obviously. There is an optimum amount of rare earth addition in the plating solution. With the change of plating voltage to a certain extent, the results reveal no differences. The mechanism of the increase of the depositing rate was analyzed.

Enhancement of Corrosion Resistance of NiCrFeBSi Coatings Obtained by Flame Thermal Spray Process Adding an Electroless Nickel Coating Ni-P

Flame Thermal Spray (FTS) coatings frequently show some porosity and reduced adherence to substrate, which affect its properties, especially its corrosion resistance. In this work, the corrosion resistance of AISI 1018 carbon steel coated by different methods is compared: electroless nickel (EN) coating, NiCrFeBSi obtained by FTS, duplex coatings of an EN deposit on a layer of NiCrFeBSi obtained by FTS and a layer of NiCrFeBSi on an EN deposit. The coatings were characterized using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques, EDS microprobe microanalysis, roughness as well as electrochemical polarization tests to obtain the corrosion rate. The results show the enhancement in the corrosion resistance in saline medium of the duplex coatings, especially of the EN coating on FTS layer.

Dual Bath Electrodeposition of Alternate Multilayer Coatings of Zinc and Nickel Deposits

The synthesis of zinc and nickel alternate multilayer coatings produced by successive deposition from dual baths containing a revised zinc sulphate electrolyte and a new developed nickel bath has been investigated. Smooth and uniform zinc-nickel compositionally modulated multilayered (CMM) coatings with different multilayer configurations were obtained. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cross-sectional morphology showed the layered structure of the coatings clearly.

Microstructure and Performances of Nanocrystalline Zinc-nickel Alloy Coatings

Nanocrystalline zinc-nickel alloy coatings were deposited from an alkaline zincate bath contained an organic additive that can reduce polarization and a complexing agent. SEM and TEM observations and XRD analysis were performed to examine the microstructure and phase composition of the coatings. The nickel content in deposits is 12.0-14.7% and the coating is consisted of single nanocrystalline y-phase structure (Ni5Zn2i), with grain average grain size about 15nm. The nanocrystalline zinc-nickel alloy coatings have better corrosion resistance, less bnttleness and higher microhardness than the conventional zinc coatings.

Modeling of Fracture Toughness of Electroless Nickel (EN) Coatings

In the present reserch, a model has been proposed for estimate fracture toughness of Nickel-phosphorus (EN) layers. For this purpose, high phosphorus (9%) EN coatings with thicknesses of 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 urn were applied on steel substrates and then treated as conventional process. Fracture toughness of coatings was obtained using Vickers indentation method. It is found that fracture toughness increses as coating thickness reduces. Effect of coating thickness on fracture toughness was exhibited by various models. Evaluation of models revealed good agreement between of proposed model (Kc=f(t,t2)) and experimental data.

Evolution of deformation-induced texture and surface microstructure of nickel coating under deep cup-drawing process

The deformation texture and surface microstructure of nickel coating induced by deep cup-drawing were studied by X-ray diffractometry and SEM. The steel sheet with nickel coating was firstly punched to designed degree of cup shapes. Then the texture of the coating was determined by XRD and the surface microstructure was observed by SEM. The results indicate that,the nickel coating material includes three kinds of textures,i.e. Ni(111),Ni(200) and Ni(220). After cup-drawing deformation,there doesn't appear new texture component for nickel coatings but the change of the intensity of the deformation textures. In the cup-deformation process,the two kinds of main textures Ni(111) and Ni(200) increase in the first and second cup-drawing procedures and then reduce quickly in the third and fourth drawing procedure. However,for the Ni(220) texture,it always increases in whole cup-drawing procedures. With the increase in the drawing,there are some cracks to be found,but not delamination. This shows that nickel coating and the substrate have a good combinable performance.

Effect of tension deformation on microstructure and mechanism of electrodeposited nickel coating

Nickel coating deposits with better ductility on a lower carbon steel sheet were produced by electrodeposition method and the electrodeposited nickel coating was deformed with the strain of 10%. Then the surface morphology,the deformation texture and the mechanical properties were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffractometry(XRD) and nano-indentation measurement,respectively. The principle of nano-indentation to measure the hardness and elastic modulus of nickel coating was introduced. The relation curves of the load and displacement were obtained,including the original electrodeposited samples and the samples under tension. The results show that:1) there are only two main texture components Ni(111) and Ni(200) in the nickel coating,and no new texture component is found due to the elongation;2) after tensile deformation in the coating,the surface roughness increases and the microcrack is found;3) The hardness and the elastic modulus decrease after tensile deformation;and 4) for the original electrodeposited sample,the indentation depths change with the load,the hardness and the elastic modulus decrease with the increase of the depth. In addition,the investigation of creep shows that the value of creep increases when the tensile strain ε>10%.

Computation of deformation-induced textures in electrodeposited nickel coating

The deformation-induced textures in electrodeposited nickel coating were numerically studied. The finite element method (FEM) for polycrystalline was developed based on Taylor model. Then the deformation-induced textures in electrodeposited nickel coating with initial random and lamellar texture were simulated under tensile load. It is found that the initial textures significantly influence the deformation-induced textures. For nickel coating with the initial random textures, when the tensile strain is about 40%, there are some lamellar textures. For nickel coating with the initial lamellar textures, the lamellar texture is more intensity with the increase of the tensile strain. With the increase of the tensile strain in the coating, there are more pronounced element distortion and a more inhomogeneous deformation. Due to the different crystal orientations, the grain-scale roughness is observed. With increasing tensile strain in the coating, the surface grain-scale roughness increases on the free surface. The surface roughness of the coating with initial random texture is lower than that with the initial lamellar texture.

Antistatic coating material consisting of poly (butylacrylate-co-styrene) core-nickel shell particle

A transparent and antistatic coating material consisting of polymer core-metal shell particle was prepared. As a polymer core, poly(butylacrylate-co-styrene)s ([P(BA-co-sty)s]) with various compositions of butylacrylate and styrene were synthesized by emulsion polymerization. And the effect of comonomer composition on the thermal property of polymer core particle was investigated. By electroless plating method, the nickel particles were formed and deposited on the surface of P(BA-co-Sty) particles to form P(BA-co-Sty) core-nickel shell composite particles. SEM observation confirms that the nickel particles with size of 15 nm are distributed on the surface of the polymer core particles. The surface resistance of P(BA-co-Sty) core-nickel shell composite is 0.8×108Ω/cm2, enough to act as antistatic coating material.