High-performance anti-corrosion behavior of graphene oxide decorated nickel coating by novel ultrasonic-assisted supercritical-CO2 electrodeposition approach

Abstract

Graphene oxide is a potent composite material for corrosion applications due to the presence of abundant functional groups and chemical stability [1,2]. Nickel-graphene oxide (Ni/GO) composite coating has been widely employed in various sectors such as marine, aerospace, and automobile industries due to their higher mechanical and anti-corrosive properties [3]. However, the conventional electrodeposition of nickel-graphene oxide coating does not reach a higher performance due to the limited incorporation and agglomeration of GO. This study presents the high-performance corrosion resistance of Ni/GO composite coating prepared through the ultrasonic-assisted supercritical-CO2 (US-SCCO2) electrodeposition process. For comparison, pure Ni and Ni/GO coatings prepared from both the conventional and SCCO2 electrodeposition processes were probed. The structural and morphological properties of the deposited films were scrutinized using various physiochemical characterization techniques. Then we looked into the electrochemical studies on corrosion resistance behavior of prepared films based on the changes in their morphology, crystal phase, size, core level oxidation state, carbon presence, coating hardness, and charge transfer resistance properties. Interestingly the observed results revealed that incorporating the GO nanosheets through US-SCCO2 condition enhanced the Ni/GO composite coating's anti-corrosion performance (Rp = 9073.8 Ω/cm2) than conventional Ni/GO composite coating (Rp = 3935.7 Ω/cm2) and pure Ni-coating (Rp = 1483.7 Ω/cm2). Thereby, we have successfully demonstrated the efficient and eco-friendly US-SCCO2 electrodeposition method, improving the Ni/GO composite coating's hardness and anti-corrosion properties.