Ni–B/SiC nanocomposite coating obtained by pulse plating and evaluation of its electrochemistry and mechanical properties

ABSTRACTOne of the important techniques for developing coatings with proper electrochemical and mechanical properties is electrodeposition method. The goal of the current work is to optimise contents of SiC particles in the bath to achieve Ni–B/SiC composite coatings with high corrosion resistance and wear properties. Pulse plating method was used to prepare Ni–B/SiC composite deposits of Watts bath including trimethylamine borane (TMAB) and SiC nanopowder addition. The effects of SiC concentration in the bath, which is the principal factor, on the main properties of the coatings were studied. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy-dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyse the characterisations of the coatings. In order to evaluate the corrosion behaviour of the coatings, the open circuit potential (OCP), electrochemical impedance (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarisation (Tafel) tests were applied in 3.5% NaCl solution. Moreover, the pin-on-disc pro...