Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

, Volume 24, Issue 12, pp 4835–4843 | Cite as

Electroless Ni-P/SiC Nanocomposite Coatings With Small Amounts of SiC Nanoparticles for Superior Corrosion Resistance and Hardness

  • Mohammad Islam
  • Muhammad Rizwan Azhar
  • Yasir Khalid
  • Rawaiz Khan
  • Hany S. Abdo
  • Mushtaq A. Dar
  • Olamilekan R. Oloyede
  • T. David Burleigh
Article
First Online:
Received:
Revised:

Abstract

The addition of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles into electroless nickel (Ni)-based coatings improves both corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of the resulting Ni-P/SiC nanocomposite coatings, making them potential candidate as protective coatings in aggressive environments. Ni-P/SiC nanocomposite coatings were produced from precursor bath with small SiC loading levels (0.25 or 1.0 g/L) and characterized for morphology, corrosion resistance, and hardness. Microstructural examination using FE-SEM and AFM revealed that incorporation of uniformly dispersed SiC nanoparticles leads to smaller nodule size with fine-grain structure and low surface roughness. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies in 4 wt.% NaCl solution showed that the nanocomposite coatings exhibit excellent corrosion resistance, as indicated by high charge-transfer resistance and low double-layer capacitance values of ~137 kΩ cm2 and 19 µF cm−2, respectively. The coatings maintained their structural integrity even after 5 days of saline bath immersion, as there was no cracking in the deposit microstructure besides formation of shallow pits and submicron-sized pores. A two-fold increase in the average hardness value was noticed from 4.5 (pure Ni-P) to 8.5 GPa (Ni-P/SiC coating) which can be ascribed to modified deposit morphology and uniformly dispersed SiC nanoparticles that act as obstacles to plastic deformation.

Keywords

EIS electroless process nanocomposite coatings nanoindentation SiC nanoparticles 

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the technical and financial support of the Research Center of College of Engineering, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University.

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Copyright information

© ASM International 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Mohammad Islam
    • 1
  • Muhammad Rizwan Azhar
    • 2
  • Yasir Khalid
    • 1
  • Rawaiz Khan
    • 3
  • Hany S. Abdo
    • 1
    • 4
  • Mushtaq A. Dar
    • 1
  • Olamilekan R. Oloyede
    • 5
  • T. David Burleigh
    • 6
  1. 1.Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), Advanced Manufacturing InstituteKing Saud UniversityRiyadhSaudi Arabia
  2. 2.Chemical Engineering DepartmentCurtin UniversityBentleyAustralia
  3. 3.Department of Chemical Engineering, College of EngineeringKing Saud UniversityRiyadhSaudi Arabia
  4. 4.Mechanical Design and Materials Department, Faculty of Energy EngineeringAswan UniversityAswanEgypt
  5. 5.Institute for Materials Research (IMR), School of Chemical & Process Engineering, Faculty of EngineeringUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
  6. 6.Materials and Metallurgical Engineering DepartmentNew Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologySocorroUSA

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