Investigation of Hardness of Electroless Ni-P-CNF Composite Coatings

In the current experimental work,the electroless Ni-P-CNF nano-composite plating has been deposited upon basic mild steel substrate. The activated 1.5 gpl CNF nano-particles were integrated into an acidic electroless Ni-P matrix as a second phase material and were condensed by a reducing agent named as sodium hypophosphite. After coating, as-prepared Ni-P/Ni-P-CNFEL deposition were heated at 350°C in Ar environment for one hour duration and were analysed for surface morphology and elemental composition by SEM and EDAX. A homogeneous and heavy consistent allocation of CNF nano-particles into EL Ni-P matrix is established through analysis of SEM and EDAX. The hardness (HV50) is measured by micro-hardness tester. The micro-hardness of the substrate, Ni-P coated sample and Ni-P-CNF coated samples are in subsequent order as Ni-P-CNF (heated)>Ni-P-CNF (as-coated)> Ni-P (heated) > Ni-P (as-plated) > MS.