Effect of SiC particle size on structures and properties of Ni–SiC nanocomposites deposited by magnetic pulse electrodeposition technology

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, Ni–SiC nanocomposites were deposited on Q235 steel substrates by magnetic pulse electrodeposition (MPED) technique. Microstructures, compositions and microhardness values of obtained composites were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning probe microscopy (SPM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and triboindenter in-situ nanomechanical testing. Results showed S-30 nanocomposites with fine, compact and uniform structures consisting of fine nickel grains (average size: 381.7 nm) and SiC nanoparticles (average size: 34.2 nm). For SiC particle size of 30 nm, diffraction peaks of Ni and SiC appeared wide with low intensity, indicating S-30 nanocomposites with small sized Ni grains and SiC nanoparticles. Largest TiN content reaching 10.59 wt% was embedded in S-30 nanocomposites prepared at SiC particle size of 30 nm. Final depths of S-30 and S-200 composites were estimated to 15.1 μm and 24.8 μm, respectively. Wear and corrosion properties of Ni–SiC nanocomposites were then investigated. After corrosion testing for 24 h, the weight losses of S-200, S-80 and S-30 composites were recorded as 1.67, 1.44 and 0.95 mg, respectively. Under the same wear experimental conditions, S-200 composite presented the highest mass loss while S-80 composites displayed the lowest mass loss. By comparison, wear mass loss of S-30 nanocomposites was only 37.1 mg.