Fabrication and characterization of graphene oxide reinforced Ni[sbnd]B composite coating by pulsed electrodeposition technique

Abstract

The present study reports some properties of Ni-B-GO composite coatings deposited on the surface of St37 steel (low carbon steel) substrate by pulse electrodeposition technique. The graphene oxide (GO) was utilized as reinforcement in the bath. The mechanical properties of NiB coating and Ni-B-GO composite coatings showed that while the indentation depth was high for the NiB coating, the indentation depth decreases with the increase in GO content. The friction coefficient of coatings decreases from 0.46 to 0.28 as GO amount increases. The result of wear test reveals that an amount of 100 mg GO in the coating layer provide a relatively smooth wear track. GO behaves as a lubricate during friction and wear test between the test sample and counter-face and decreases the friction coefficient. It was found that the dominant wear mechanism is adhesive wear. The corrosion potential of composite coating was decreased depending on the GO content. The icorr value of the NiB coating was 1.9 × 10−5 A·cm−2 while this value reduces to 2.6 × 10−6 A·cm−2 for GO-100 sample. The Ecorr value of the NiB coating was −0.565 mV, while the GO particles included in the coating, the Ecorr value increases to −0.470 mV.