Synthesis and Characterization of MultiFunctional Nickel-Based Nanocomposites Coatings for Steel Structures

Abstract

Corrosion is one of the challenging problems faced by many industries, causing substantial economic losses every year, reducing the performance of components, and raising many safety concerns. Conventional metal plating such as Ni, Cr, Zn, and Cd, are becoming insufficient to meet the existing challenges. Therefore, developing smart strategies that can efficiently mitigate corrosion at a competitive cost is necessary. Recently, Nickel-based coatings, particularly Nickel Phosphorous (Ni-P), have received tremendous attention because of their promising attributes, excellent corrosion protection abilities, low cost, and better mechanical traits. Therefore, in the present work, Ni-P (a binary alloy) based nanocomposite coatings were developed through electroless and pulse electrodeposition techniques containing multiple concentrations of various reinforcements. Comprehensively, various (three) types of nanocoatings i-e Ni-P-Ti, Ni-P-TiC, and Ni-P-ZrO2 were developed and characterized. In this context, high-strength-low-alloy (HSLA) steel substrates were used to deposit these coatings, targeting their applications in the aerospace industry. Further, their structural, morphological, surface, thermal, corrosion, and wear resistance aspects were thoroughly studied to reveal the impact of ceramic reinforcements in altering the properties of Ni-P binary alloy coatings. It was noticed that the concentration of reinforcement had a significant influence on altering the properties of the simple Ni-P coatings. The incremental incorporation of Titanium nanoparticles (TNPs) into the Ni-P matrix through the electroless process has substantially improved mechanical, corrosion, and heat resistance properties. Similarly, Ni-P-TiC nano coatings processed through the pulse-electrodeposition technique demonstrated significantly improved properties with an increasing amount of Titanium Carbide nanoparticles (TCNPs) in the Ni-P alloy matrix. The outperforming values of 720HV in microhardness, 22.22GPa modulus of elasticity, 7.26kN/m in stiffness, 0.87µgm/Nm in wear rate, and 94 % corrosion protection efficiency in saline water are attained by Ni-P-TiC coatings at the concertation of 0.75g/L. Finally, the inclusion of Zirconium Oxide nanoparticles (ZONPs) into the Ni-P matrix by pulse electrodeposition was performed to elucidate their role in composite coating deposition. The ZONPs addition also demonstrated an enhancement in the mechanical attributes

vi and corrosion resistance response with the increasing amount of ZONPs into the Ni-P alloy at the concentration of 1.0 g/L. The improvement in mechanical properties by adding various reinforcements can be attributed mainly to the formation of compact composite structures, grain refinement, and dispersion hardening effects. The enhancement in corrosion resistance properties by incorporating several reinforcements can be considered as the effect of a decrease in the active area of the Ni-P metal alloy by the presence of inactive and insoluble ceramic nanoparticles and filling of coatings defects such as pores and cavities. Definitively, the outcome properties of Ni-P coatings modified with TNPs, TCNPs, and ZONPs make them an attractive material for aerospace and many associated industrial applications.