Evaluation on the microhardness of Ni-TiO2 nanocomposite coatings on AISI 1022 substrate

Abstract

The surface strength and performance of the material depends mainly on the appropriate coating techniques and also on the selection of the appropriate process parameters. From in this, electroplating is broadly used to protecting the material's surface and hence increases the life of industrial components. The present study pulse electrodeposition of Ni-TiO2 nanocomposite coating was developed on the surface of AISI 1022 Carbon Steel from watts bath. Such nanocoatings greatly enhanced the better hardness, wear and corrosion resistance in the automotive industry. The present work purpose to examine the influence of the coating process parameters on the microhardness (MH) of Ni-TiO2 nanocomposite coating on AISI 1022 Carbon Steel with the aid of response surface methodology (RSM). The Pulse frequency (Hz), Current density (A/cm2) and Duty cycle (%) parameters are considered and integrated into the RSM three factors and three level orthogonal arrays to determine the optimized condition for improved hardness of the coating. The contribution of the coating parameters was studied with the help of analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result revealed frequency: 20 Hz, current density: 0.2 A/cm2 and duty cycle: 30% coated specimen uniformly distributed cauliflower structure than compared to the frequency: 30 Hz, current density: 0.2 A/cm2 and duty cycle: 20%. To explore that uniformly coated specimen EDX, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively.