The Effect of Ultrasound Treatment on Physicochemical and Tribological Properties of Electrolytic Cu–Sn–TiO2 Coatings

In this work, Cu–Sn–TiO2 composite coatings have been deposited from an oxalic acid electrolyte additionally containing 4 g/dm3 TiO2. Using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis, the influence of ultrasonic treatment and current load on the inclusion and distribution of the dispersed TiO2 phase in the Cu–Sn metal matrix has been established. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that ultrasound treatment leads to the formation of more uniform Cu–Sn–TiO2 coatings. It has been shown that an increase in the cathodic current density from 0.5 to 1.5 A/dm2 leads to the formation of coatings with higher TiO2 content. The effect of ultrasonic action and current load on the microhardness, tribological properties, and corrosion resistance of the formed Cu–Sn–TiO2 composite coatings have been studied.