Comparative performances of Ni-SiC composite coatings deposited by conventional and brush electroplating

Abstract

SiC particles are known as reinforced materials used to improve the coating’s properties and performances. In this paper, Ni - SiC composite coatings were deposited by conventional electroplating from sulfate-chloride bath, and brush electroplating methods from modified chloride bath with different dispersed SiC contents. The plating conditions were investigated and the process’ parameters were defined through electrochemical technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and micro-hardness test were used to clarify the effect of SiC content on coating’s properties and performances. The hardness of brush electrodeposit reached the highest value of 525 HV when the concentration of SiC in the plating solution was 4 g/L, while the hardness of conventional electrodeposit was only 389.3 HV when the plating bath contained 20 g/L SiC. The characterized results show clear advantages of brush electroplating compared to the conventional method to form the coating with high micro-hardness.