The high concentration and uniform distribution of diamond particles in Ni‐diamond composite coatings by sediment co‐deposition

Ni‐diamond composite coatings with high concentration and uniform distribution of diamond particles were prepared by using sediment co‐deposition (SCD) technique from Watts‐type electrolyte without any additives. The surface and cross‐section morphology was evaluated by optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was demonstrated that the Ni‐monolayer diamond composite coatings ~40 ± 5 µm was successfully prepared by the new developed setup for SCD technique. Using this new developed setup, high concentration and uniform distribution of diamond particles of Ni‐monolayer diamond composite coatings were easily fabricated. The wear resistance and cutting performance of obtained composite coatings were also investigated. The results revealed that anti‐wear and cutting performance is superior to those prepared via conventional co‐electrodeposition (CED) technique and pure Ni coatings. In the SCD process, with the increasing diamond content, the wear resistance is approximately the same, and the cutting performance decreases. Therefore, not only the diamond particle content is responsible for the wear resistance and cutting performance, the distribution of diamond particles is also very important factor. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.