Annealing behaviour of electrodeposited Ni–Zr and Ni–Al composite coatings

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe current research investigated the annealing behaviour of the electrodeposited Ni–Zr and Ni–Al composites from 475 to 675 K using an X-ray diffractometer line profile analysis (LPA) technique. The results showed that the grain size increased and microstrain decreased with an increase in the annealing temperatures and annealing times. The grain growth activation energies Q of 53.2 kJ mol−1 for Ni–Zr composite and 79.4 kJ mol−1 for Ni–Al composite were obtained based on the LPA technique. This smaller grain growth activation energy of the composite compared with the pure nickel could be ascribed to the higher microstrain and nanocrystalline crystallites. The residual tensile stress of the as-deposited composite changed to compressive stress state after annealing treatment and increased with annealing temperatures.