The Effect of Current Density on the NiCu Coating Synthesized by Electroplating

Abstract

In this paper, the NiCu alloy coatings were electroplated on the 304 stainless steel coupon. The XRD was used to identify the phase structure of the as-prepared products. The SEM and EDS were used to observe the surface morphology of the as-prepared coatings and the atomic composition of the as-prepared coatings, respectively. The influences of the current density on the as-plated NiCu coatings are systematically researched. It was found that the moderate current density is beneficial to the compactness of the coatings. The content of the copper decreased and that of the nickel increased with the increasing of the current density. When the current density is smaller than 40 mA/cm2, the contents of nickel and copper vary apparently. When the current density is larger than 40 mA/cm2, the contents of nickel and copper vary slightly. That means the copper is more easily deposited at low current density and the nickel is more easily deposited at high current density.