Brush Plating Research Articles

Parameter optimization and wear characteristics of nano CuO/Ni composite coating by brush plating technique

The development of deposition of different metal processes established on electrodeposition of nickel, different alloy and composite coatings on different surfaces has attested an upsurge in interest among researchers. In latter years, these coatings have exhibited promising corrosion and wear resistance properties. Also, huge number of modern developments became most critical from macro to nano level applications. It is well known that one may shape the microstructure and the phase present in the material to recover the mechanical properties of highly pure materials, specifically metals. Co-deposition of fine particles inside a metal matrix to generate composite coatings has treated as a practical strategy to acquire enhanced mechanical properties like wear resistance, corrosion resistance and lubrication. In this work, CuO/Ni composite coatings are processed on the small cylindrical pin by electro brush plating to evaluate the wear and corrosion resistance. To examine the effects about the different parameters of processes on wear loss of CuO/Ni composite coating, L16(44) orthogonal experiment is designed and conducted with four process parameters (voltage, concentration of nanoCuO particles in g/l, temperature and thickness) which are selected as factors. Design of experiment is employed to resolve the effects of process parameters on the wear loss of composite coatings. It is concluded that concentration of CuO nanoparticle and voltage are the most significant factors for the wear loss.

Direct Micropatterning of Initiator Layers for Surface-initiated ATRP: Spatially-regulated Growth of Polymer Brush and Subsequent Copper Electroless Plating

Direct patterning of initiator layers for surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization was successfully demonstrated on bare polyimide substrates based on an inkjet printing using a simple sol-gel solution of (p-chloromethyl)phenyltrimethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane. Using this approach, line-shaped initiator layers with a hundred of micrometer-scale width could be successfully patterned without specific pre-treatments of polyimide film surfaces. We also confirmed that they could serve as ideal templates for spatially-defined formation of nitrogen-containing polymer brushes and subsequent electroless Cu plating on non-conducting polyimide films with a reasonable growth rate and adhesion strength.

Effects of laser surface alloying with Cr on microstructure and hardness of commercial purity Zr

Pulsed laser was utilized to treat a commercial purity Zr (CP Zr) sheet coated with Cr by brush plating to achieve Cr alloying on its surface. Microstructural characteristics and hardness of the laser-treated surface were investigated by use of electron channeling contrast imaging, electron backscatter diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry techniques and microhardness measurement. Results show that after the laser surface alloying (LSA) with Cr, five zones with distinctly different microstructural characteristics are presented from the surface to the matrix: two melted zones (MZs), two solid-state phase transformation zones (SSPTZs) and the unchanged matrix. The MZ-1 and the MZ-2 are featured by equiaxed and columnar structures with internal substructures inside them, respectively. The SSPTZ-1 is fully comprised of martensitic plates transformed from complete β domains while the SSPTZ-2 contains both martensitic plates and bulk α grains due to cooling from α+β domains. The Cr alloying mainly occurs in the two melted zones (MZ-1 and MZ-2) while essentially not in the SSPTZs. Compared with the initial microstructure, many low angle boundaries appear in untransformed bulk α grains in the SSPTZ-2, which is related to thermal stresses induced by the laser surface treatment. Hardness measurements show that the LSA with Cr can effectively increase the surface hardness of the CP Zr, with the maximum value (468 HV) to be ∼2.4 times that of the matrix. Such hardening could be mainly attributed to solid-solution strengthening of Cr in α-Zr and significant grain refinement.

Two–step fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces with anti–adhesion

A self–cleaning property with anti–adhesion and superhydrophobicity was fabricated on aluminum alloy surface via a facile and low–cost method coupling electro–brush plating and laser processing. The surface morphology, chemical composition, wettability, anti–adhesion and self–cleaning effect were analyzed by multiple ways. The results indicated that an array of micro–scale grooves and typical hierarchical protrusion structure were covered on the surface, and the edge of the groove was covered by micro–scale sputtering particles. The special composite structures played an important role in amplifying the hydrophobic property of surface. The surface showed excellent superhydrophobic properties. The contact angle was as high as 156.3° and the sliding angle was 4.8°. The water droplet has approached onto the superhydrophobic surface and completely bounced back to the tip of the needle on the coupling surface. The adhesion between the coupling surface and the water droplet is very weakly, the surface has excellent anti–adhesion property. Through the comparative test, the composite method also has excellent low adhesion property to the polyethylene material. In this case, the low adhesion led to a rolling and self–cleaning behavior. The approach presented in this study provides a facile, low–cost and efficient method to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces on all types of metallic materials for commercial applications.

Corrosion behaviors of 316LN stainless steel joints brazed with Sn-plated silver filler metals

AgCuZnSn filler metals were prepared from the BAg34CuZnSn filler metal by a combinative process of brush plating and thermal diffusion, and the prepared filler metals were applied to the induction brazing of the 316LN stainless steel. The corrosion behaviors of the brazed joints was evaluated based on local corrosion analyses, where the morphology of the joints was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after immersion in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution and electrolytic etching in a 10 vol.% oxalic acid solution. The microstructure of the brazed joints with the Sn-plated filler mainly consisted of the Ag phase, Cu phase, CuZn phase, Cu5Zn8 phase, Cu[Formula: see text]Sn[Formula: see text] phase and Ag3Sn phase. The local corrosion analysis results indicated that galvanic corrosion occurred near the interface between the stainless steel base metal and the brazing seam. With increasing local corrosion time, the corrosion rates of both the brazing seam and the base metal first exhibited an increasing trend, followed by a decreasing trend, and the corrosion rate of the brazing seam was slightly greater than that of the base metal. The corrosion behaviors analysis indicated that the corrosion resistance of the brazing seam was reduced, and concave defects emerged after electrolytic etching for 90 s.

Fabrication and characterisation of electro-brush plated nickel-graphene oxide nano-composite coatings

The extraordinary mechanical and anti-corrosion properties of graphene call for facile fabrication of graphene-based coatings with high uniformity and in large area. This research was aimed at exploring the use of an electro-brush plating technique for the production of graphene-metal nano-composite coatings. Graphene oxide (GO) was introduced into the nickel plating solution at varied concentrations and composite coatings were fabricated on stainless steel surfaces by brush plating under the same conditions. The morphology and microstructure of the obtained Ni-GO composite coatings were fully characterised and compared with neat Ni coating. The results confirm that GO sheets have been incorporated into the nickel matrix homogeneously, leading to a considerably reduced average crystallite size. Nanoindentation measurements demonstrated that GO can not only improve the hardness and reduce the plasticity of the composite matrix, but also enhance the thermal stability of the composite coating effectively. It has also been revealed by polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis that GO can increase the corrosion resistance of the composite coating owing to its barrier effect. However, it was also noticed that excessive GO content resulted in a degradation of both mechanical and corrosion properties, likely due to a more defective microstructure.

Process and Equipment Improvement for Nickel Brush Plating Application

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of process and equipment improvements for nickel brush plating applications. At the beginning of this project the company used methodology from a subsidiary which does nickel brush plating. Over time, it turned out that it would require a total redesign of the process, because it wasn't compliant with Czech legislation. We knew that without improvements the process could not move forward, therefore, we mainly focused on safety, equipment, accuracy and better quality. In this work we have been using many elements from quality management such as 6Sigma methodology, Ishikawa diagrams, 5why methods, 5S, etc.This project included many people from different sectors such as designers, technicans, material engineers, facility and maintenance, production, quality engineers, EHS engineers etc. This team came with a completely new and unique technical solution for the covered equipment which had never been built in the past in this company or by brush plating process.

Fabricated composite structure with hydrophobicity and anti-corrosion by sandblasting and electro-brush plating

The micro-nano composite structure on carbon steel substrate can be fabricated, and the composite structure not only has the property of hydrophobicity, but also has the property of corrosion resistance, which can be fabricated by combining a sandblasting technology and electro-brush plating method. The micro-nano composite structure fabricated by combining methods have been studied by the different preparation technology parameters, and then the different surface morphologies were obtained, at the same time, the different micro surface structures were formed. The parameters of the brush plating voltage plays an important part in this preparation process, so we can select the best parameters by changing the parameters of the brush plating voltage during the preparation process, and after the preparation process, hydrophobic surface has a bigger static contact angle than before, which is up to 149.3°±2.5° without any modification. In this paper, the qualitative and quantitative ananlysis of various properties of the fabricated surface with the composite structure were studied by advanced techniques. The hydrophobic surface morphologies were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the wettability of the surface were investigated by water contact angle measurements (WCA), the corrosion resistance of the fabricated surface on carbon steel substrate was investigated by potentiodynamic measurements. Through the above analysis, we can get a lot of corresponding results, and the results what we get showed that the micro-nano composite structure that constructed on the surface of carbon steel not only has the property of hydrophobic on the surface, and the hydrophobic surface also has the property of corrosion resistance by combining the technology of sand blasting and electro-brush plating. Moreover, based on potentiodynamic polarization measurement in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, the average corrosion current density of the sample surface that was fabricated by combining methods on carbon steel substrate is decreased by 1–2 orders of magnitude, and which is also less 1–2 orders of magnitude than the bare carbon steel, and because of that, the corrosion rate is also decreased, and the corrosion electric potential has an ascending tendency because of the average corrosion current density decreased. So its corrosion resistance is improved after this preparation process. It is seen that, through the method that design of combining sandblasting technology and electro-brush plating method constructed on the surface of carbon steel, the micro-nano composite structure was obtained excellent properties which included hydrophobic and corrosion resistance.

Remanufacture of Zirconium-Based Conversion Coatings on the Surface of Magnesium Alloy

Brush plating provides an effective method for creating a coating on substrates of various shapes. A corroded zirconium-based conversion coating was removed from the surface of a magnesium alloy and then replaced with new coatings prepared via brush plating. The structure and composition of the remanufactured coating were determined via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that the coatings consist of oxide, fluoride, and tannin-related organics. The composition of the coatings varied with the voltage. Furthermore, as revealed via potentiodynamic polarization spectroscopy, these coatings yielded a significant increase in the corrosion resistance of the magnesium alloy. The friction coefficient remained constant for almost 300s during wear resistance measurements performed under a 1-N load and dry sliding conditions, indicating that the remanufactured coatings provide effective inhibition to corrosion.

Effect of magnetic field on brush plating Ni–Co alloy

Ni–Co electro-brush plating on stainless steel FV520(b) surface was conducted in a perpendicular magnetic field with different intensities. The effects of the applied magnetic field on surface morphology, alloy microstructure, tribological properties and residual stress were investigated by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, mechanical tests and a nanoindentation technique. The results showed that a smoother and more uniform Ni–Co alloy coating layer with less defects could be obtained in magnetic field of high intensity. Furthermore, by increasing the intensity of the magnetic field, the content of Co in the alloy coating and the wear resistance of the coating layers increased, and the residual stress decreased. In addition, the magnetic field had a significant influence on the valence change of Ni and Co. In particular, when the intensity of magnetic field was 0.2 T a coating with best integrated performance was obtained.

Residual stresses of α-Al2O3/Ni nano-composite coating prepared by automatic brush plating technique

Brush plating is one of the remanufacturing technologies which have been widely used in engine remanufacturing. In this paper, α-Al2O3/Ni composite coatings were prepared on the inner hole face of the big end of connecting rod by a self-made automatic plating machine. To investigate the effects of process parameters on residual stresses of α-Al2O3/Ni composite coating, a L16(44) orthogonal experiment was designed and operated in which four process parameters (voltage, concentration of α-Al2O3 particles, speed, and distance between anode and workpiece) were selected as factors. ANOVA (analysis of variance) were employed to determine the effects of process parameters on the residual stresses of composite coatings. It was found that speed was the most significant factor for the residual stresses. The optimal process parameters for the desirable residual stresses were obtained, which was proved to be valid by the verification experiments. In addition, single factor experiments were employed to study the main effects of sprocess parameters on composite coatings.

Synthesis and characterization of ZnSxSe1-x films using Brush plating technique

ZnSxSe1-x films possess several interesting properties making them suitable for use in optoelectronic and optical applications. In this investigation, thin ZnSxSe1-x films were deposited for the first time by the brush plating technique. Thin films of ZnSxSe1-x were deposited at a constant current density of 80 mA cm-2 on titanium and conducting glass substrates at different temperatures in the range of 30 - 80°C. The precursors used were AR grade ZnSO4, sodium thiosulphate and sodium selenosulphate. XRD patterns of the films of different composition deposited at different temperatures exhibited hexagonal structure. An absorption coefficient of 104 cm-1 was observed. Extrapolation of the linear region to the hν axis yields the band gap in the range of 2.64 – 3.58 eV for the films deposited at different temperatures. EDAX study indicated that the composition of the films obtained were nearly equal to the composition of the precursors taken for deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies on the films of different composition deposited at 80°C. showed the spectra of Zn (2p), Se (3p1/2 and 3p3/2) and S (2p) levels. Atomic force microscope studies indicated that the surface roughness of the films increase from 1.04 – 5.45 nm as the ZnSe concentration increased. The grain size increases from 15 nm – 40 nm as the concentration of ZnSe increased.

Influence of electric contact strengthening on the microstructure and properties of electro brush plating Ni-P/nano-WC composite coatings

Ni-P/nano-WC composite coatings were fabricated through electro brush plating and were reinforced by electric contact strengthening (ECS). Then, the microstructures and properties of the composite coatings were investigated using optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Vickers hardness testing. The analysis indicated that after the application of ECS, the bonding between the composite coating and the 40Cr substrate changed from mechanical bonding to metallurgical bonding. Furthermore, the grain sizes of the coatings were refined, and the pores and cracks in the coating were reduced. After the application of ECS, the average hardness of the coatings increased from 637 to 885HV0.1. The wear scar micrographs after rolling wear tests were analyzed, and the results demonstrated that the dense coating structure and high adhesion strength improved the coating wear performance.

Mechanisms and influences of electro-brush plating micro-force on coatings performances

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Microstructural Modification of Brush-Plated Nanocrystalline Cr by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam Irradiation

Cr layer was fabricated on 40Cr steel by electric brush plating process and then treated by high current pulsed electron beam irradiation technique. Surface microstructures of specimens before and after the irradiation were investigated. Results show that Cr surface is composed of uniformly distributed small nodule units which are composed of fine Cr particles smaller than 100nm. After high current pulsed electron beam treatment, many cracks are found on surface. The main reason is possibly due to the quasi-static thermal stresses accumulated along the surface of the specimens during the electron beam treatment. The surface grain grow from Cr particles because of heating by electron beam, and their size is less than 200nm.

Study of the Nickel-Tungsten and Nickel-Cobalt Coatings Plated on Ductile Iron

Hard coatings such as nickel, chromium and tungsten can improve the surface properties of the substrate. The coating surfaces have been developed for increase of the wear resistance, hardness or corrosion resistance for industrial applications. Electroplating methods generally used to obtain producing these hard coatings and a novel brush plating process has the potential as an alternative of electroplating for industrial applications. In the present work, nickel–tungsten and nickel–cobalt alloys are coated on ductile iron by brush plating for surface characterization. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry were used to investigate the coating microstructures, surface morphology. The hardness of plating layers was measured. The results indicated that the nickel–tungsten coating was harder than nickel–cobalt coating. Excellent adhesion was obtained after nickel–cobalt plating. The tribological resistances were also significantly improved, as confirmed by the decrease friction coefficient and wear rate.

Influence of rare earths addition on residual stress of Fe-based coating prepared by brush plating technology

AbstractThe effect of rare earths (La, Ce and Pr) addition on residual stress in iron coatings prepared by brush plating was investigated. The results showed that the addition of rare earth transformed the residual stress in the coating from tensile to compressive. To relieve the residual stress, on the one hand, RE elements segregated at the grain boundaries which restricted the coalescence of the grains and provided more capability of grain deformation. On the other hand, RE elements could purify detrimental element and absorb hydrogen atoms in the coating. Among the three rare earths, elements lanthanum showed the most significant effect on surface morphology and residual stress.

The Fabrication of Freestanding Heterogeneous Copper-Tin Films with Meniscus Brush Plating Electrodeposition

A meniscus brush plating electrodeposition technique was utilized in conjunction with a post deposition heat treatment to formulate freestanding copper-tin alloy films for negative electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. The described fabrication technique intertwined the electrode and current collector for improved cell volume utilization and stability. Two designs were examined to establish the best diffusivity to form electrochemically proficient copper-tin alloys. Fabrication was optimized to promote diffusion of copper and tin and to form the desired intermetallic phase of Cu6Sn5. This improved design fabricated films with competitive areal capacities above 1000 mAh/cc and 2.5 mAh/cm2 for the complete electrode and current collector structure.

Effects of n-Al2O3 Particles Content on Structure and Performance of Electro-Brush Plating Ni-Co Alloy Composite Coatings

The composite electronic brush plating technique was used to prepare alloy nanocomposite coatings with different nano-Al 2 O 3 particles contents. The effects of nanoparticles content in the electrolyte on the deposition rate, nanoparticles content in coating, microhardness and tribological property of composite coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, microhardness tester and attrition testing machine. It is found that with the increase of nano-Al 2 O 3 particles content in the electrolyte, the deposition rate of coatings drops, the surface morphology of the coating becomes flat, the microhardness first increases and then decreases, and wear scar depth and friction coefficient decrease first and then increase. When the nano-Al 2 O 3 particles concentration in the electrolyte is 20 g/L, the coating reaches its optimized structure and performance.

Influences of brush plating solutions composition and technological parameters on the quality of rolled copper foil surface coatings

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