Plasma sprayed Al2O3/FeCrAl composite coatings for electromagnetic wave absorption application

Al₂O₃/FeCrAl composite coatings were fabricated by atmosphere plasma spraying technique. Microstructure and dielectric properties in the frequency range from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz were investigated. The microstructure of composite coatings shows a uniform dispersion of metal particles with litter pores and microcracks in the composite coatings. The relaxation polarization and interfacial polarization in the coatings would contribute to enhance ?′ with rising FeCrAl content, and the associated loss could be considered as a dominating factor enhancing ?″. By calculating the microwave-absorption as a single-layer absorber, for the composite coatings with 41 wt.% FeCrAl content, the reflection loss values exceeding −10 dB are achieved in the frequency range of 9.1-10.6 GHz when the coating thickness is 1.3 mm.     

Preparation, characterization and microwave absorption properties of electroless Ni-Co-P-coated SiC powder

Silicon carbide particles reinforced nickel-cobalt-phosphorus matrix composite coatings were prepared by two-step electroless plating process (pre-treatment of sensitizing and subsequent plating) for the application to lightweight microwave absorbers, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and vector network analyzer, respectively. The results show that Ni-Co-P deposits are uniform and mixture crystalline of α-Co and Ni₃P and exhibit low-specific saturation magnetization and low coercivity. Due to the conductive and ferromagnetic behavior of the Ni-Co thin films, high dielectric constant and magnetic loss can be obtained in the microwave frequencies. The maximum microwave loss of the composite powder less than −32 dB was found at the frequency of 6.30 GHz with a thickness of 2.5 mm when the initial atomic ratio of Ni-Co in the plating bath is 1.5.     

Mechanical properties and wear and corrosion resistance of electrodeposited Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coating

Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coatings with various contents of SiC nano-particulates were prepared by electrodeposition in a Ni-Co plating bath containing SiC nano-particulates to be co-deposited. The influences of the nanoparticulates concentration, current density, stirring rate and temperature of the plating bath on the composition of the coatings were investigated. The shape and size of the SiC nano-particulates were observed and determined using a transmission electron microscope. The polarization behavior of the composite plating bath was examined on a PAR-273A potentiostat/galvanostat device. The wear behavior of the Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coatings was evaluated on a ball-on-disk UMT-2MT test rig. The worn surface morphologies of the Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coatings were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The corrosion behavior of the nanocomposite coatings was evaluated by charting the Tafel curves of the solution of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ NaCl at room temperature. It was found that the cathodic polarization potential of the composite electrolyte increased with increasing SiC concentration in the plating bath. The microhardness and wear and corrosion resistance of the nanocomposite coatings also increased with increasing content of the nano-SiC in the plating bath, and the morphologies of the nanocomposite coatings varied with varying SiC concentration in the plating bath as well. Moreover, the co-deposited SiC nano-particulates were uniformly distributed in the Ni-Co matrix and contributed to greatly increase the microhardness and wear resistance of the Ni-Co alloy coating.     

Preparation and properties of electroless Ni-P-SiO2 composite coatings

Dispersible SiO₂ nanoparticles were co-deposited with electroless Ni-P coating onto AISI-1045 steel substrates in the absence of any surfactants in plating bath. The resulting Ni-P/nano-SiO₂ composite coatings were heat-treated for 1 h at 200 °C, 400 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The hardness and wear resistance of the heat-treated composite coatings were measured. Moreover, the structural changes of the composite coatings before and after heat treatment were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), while their elemental composition and morphology were analyzed using an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results show that co-deposited SiO₂ particles contributed to increase the hardness and wear resistance of electroless Ni-P coating, and the composite coating heat-treated at about 400 °C had the maximum hardness and wear resistance.     

Study of deposition patterns of plating layers in SiC/Cu composites by electro-brush plating

SiC reinforced copper composite coatings were prepared by electro-brush plating with micron-size silicon carbide (SiC) ranging from 1 to 5 μm on pure copper sheet in this paper. The micro-structural characterizations of SiC/Cu composite coatings were performed by optical microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with spectrometer, to study co-deposition mechanism of SiC/Cu. It was found that there were three different patterns of SiC deposition in plating layers during electro-brush plating process, i.e. the particles could deposit inside copper grains, in grain boundaries, or in holes of the surface. To investigate deposition mechanism of each pattern, size of SiC and copper grains was compared. By comparison of size of copper grains and hard particles, SiC were either wrapped in copper grains or deposited in grain boundaries. Moreover, electro-brush plating layers at different brush velocities and current densities were obtained respectively, to analyze the microstructure evolution of the composite coatings. The hardness of plating layers was measured. The results indicated at the current density of 3 A/dm², the SiC/Cu coating was compact with SiC content at a high level and the hardness reached a maximum.     

Preparation and characterization of nickel nano-Al2O3 composite coatings by sediment co-deposition

Ni-Al₂O₃ composite coatings were prepared by using sediment co-deposition (SCD) technique and conventional electroplating (CEP) technique from Watt's type electrolyte without any additives. The microstructure, hardness, and wear resistance of resulting composites were investigated. The results show that the incorporation of nano-Al₂O₃ particles changes the surface morphology of nickel matrix. The preferential orientation is modified from (2 0 0) plane to (1 1 1) plane. The microhardness of Ni-Al₂O₃ composite coatings in the SCD technique are higher than that of the CEP technique and pure Ni coating and increase with the increasing of the nano-Al₂O₃ particles concentration in plating solution. The wear rate of the Ni-Al₂O₃ composite coating fabricated via SCD technique with 10 g/l nano-Al₂O₃ particles in plating bath is approximately one order of magnitude lower than that of pure Ni coating. Wear resistance for SCD obtained composite coatings is superior to that obtained by the CEP technique. The wear mechanism of pure Ni and nickel nano-Al₂O₃ composite coatings are adhesive wear and abrasive wear, respectively.     

Ni-Co-TiO2 nanocomposite coating prepared by pulse and pulse reversal methods using acetate bath

Ni-Co/nano TiO₂ (Ni-Co-TiO₂) composite coatings were prepared under pulse current and pulse reverse current methods using acetate bath. The microstructure and corrosion resistance of the coatings were characterized by means of XRD, SEM and EIS. Both the Ni-Co alloy and composite coatings exhibited single phase of Ni matrix with face centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure. The crystal orientation of the Ni-Co-TiO₂ composite coating was transformed from crystal face (2 0 0) to (1 1 1) compared with Ni-Co alloy coatings. The results showed that the microstructure and performances of the coatings were greatly affected by TiO₂ content on the deposits prepared by PC and PRC methods. The microhardness and corrosion resistance were enhanced in the optimum percentage of TiO₂ composite coatings. The PRC composite coatings were exhibited from compact surface, higher microhardness and good corrosion resistance compared with that of the PC composite coating.     

Preparation and microwave absorption properties of electroless Co-Ni-P coated strontium ferrite powder

A new type of Co-Ni-P coated strontium ferrite nanocomposite was prepared with electroless plating enhanced by ultrasonic wave at room temperature. The plating process was studied carefully. The morphology, crystal structure and microwave absorption properties of the Co-Ni-P coated powder were studied with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDX) and vector network analyzer. The results show that the strontium ferrite powder was successfully coated with Co-Ni-P alloy and possesses excellent microwave absorption properties. The maximum microwave loss of the composite powder reaches −44.12 dB. The bandwidth with the loss above −10 dB exceeds 13.8 GHz.     

Preparation and wear resistance of pulse electrodeposited Ni-W/Al2O3 composite coatings

The aim of this work is to obtain the electroplating parameters for preparation of Ni-W/Al₂O₃ composite coating with high tungsten content, high micro-hardness and excellent wear resistance by pulse plating procedure. Our results showed that the duty cycle is a dominant parameter for the tungsten content in the coating and the tungsten content increases significantly with increasing duty cycle. The further analysis showed the great influence of tungsten content on micro-hardness of the coating. A maximum micro-hardness of about 859 Hv was obtained in pulse electrodeposited Ni-W/Al₂O₃ composite with tungsten content of 40 wt.% at a peak current density of 20 A/dm², a duty cycle of 80%, a pulse frequency of 1000 Hz and a particle loading of 10 g/L alumina in the plating bath. Although the hardness of Ni-W/Al₂O₃ composite coating was only slightly affected by the alumina content of the deposits prepared in present investigation, the alumina content effect on the tribological characteristic of Ni-W/Al₂O₃ composite coatings is significant. The friction coefficient was lowered to 0.25 and the wear loss was reduced to 1.05 mg by setting the control factors according to the values mentioned above for obtaining the coating with the highest micro-hardness.     

Effect of pulse electrodeposition parameters on the properties of Ni/nano-SiC composites

Pure nickel and nickel matrix composite deposits containing nano-SiC particles were produced under both direct and pulse current conditions from an additive-free nickel Watts’ type bath. It has been proved that composite electrodeposits prepared under pulse plating conditions exhibited higher incorporation percentages than those obtained under direct plating conditions, especially at low duty cycles. The study of the textural perfection of the deposits revealed that the presence of nano-particles led to the worsening of the quality of the observed [1 0 0] preferred orientation. Composites with high concentration of embedded particles exhibited a mixed crystal orientation through [1 0 0] and [2 1 1] axes. The embedding SiC nano-particles in the metallic matrix by an intra-crystalline mechanism resulted in the production of composite deposits with smaller crystallite sizes and more structural defects than those of pure Ni deposits. A dispersion-hardening effect was revealed for composite coatings independently from applied current conditions. Pulse electrodeposition significantly improved the hardness of the Ni/SiC composite deposits, mainly at low duty cycle and frequency of imposed current pulses.     

Electrolytical production of Ni + Mo + Si composite coatings with enhanced content of Si

Ni + Mo + Si composite coatings were prepared by co-deposition of nickel with molybdenum and silicon powders from a nickel solution in which Mo and Si particles were suspended by stirring. The layers have been deposited on a carbon steel substrate (St3S) under galvanostatic conditions. The content of Si in deposited layers was about 2-5 wt.% depending on deposition current density and the value of electric charge. For comparison Ni + Mo composite coatings were obtained under analogous current conditions. Composite coatings of enhanced Si content (15 wt.%) were deposited from an electrolyte in which 40 g/dm³ of Si covered with electroless plated nickel was dispersed. Deposition current density was equal 0.1 A/cm² and the value of electric charge Q = 500 C/cm². The thickness of the coatings was about 100-300 μm depending on their kind, electric charge and the deposition current density. Surface and cross-section morphology were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). All deposited coatings are characterized by great, developed surface area. No internal stresses causing their cracking were observed. Chemical composition of the layers was determined by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) method and quantitative X-ray analysis (QXRD). It was stated, that the content of molybdenum and silicon in Ni + Mo + Si coatings depends on deposition current density and the amount of the powder in bath. The results of structural investigation of the obtained layers by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method show, that they consist in crystalline Mo or Mo and Si phases built into Ni matrix. Moreover, Ni + Mo + Si composite coatings were modified by thermal treatment. It has been found that the thermal treatment of Ni + Mo + Si composite coatings caused that the new phases (NiSi, Mo₂Ni₃Si and Ni₆Mo₆C_1.06) were obtained.     

Microstructure and properties of Ni-Co/nano-Al2O3 composite coatings by pulse reversal current electrodeposition

Ni-Co/nano-Al₂O₃ (Ni-Co/Al₂O₃) composite coatings were prepared under pulse reversal current (PRC) and direct current (dc) methods respectively. The microstructure of coatings was characterized by means of XRD, SEM and TEM. Both the Ni-Co alloy and composite coatings exhibit single phase of Ni matrix with face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure, and the crystal orientation of the Ni-Co/Al₂O₃ composite coating was transformed from crystal face (2 0 0) to (1 1 1) compared with alloy coatings. The hardness, anti-wear property and macro-residual stress were also investigated. The results showed that the microstructure and performance of the coatings were greatly affected by Al₂O₃ content and the electrodeposition methods. With the increasing of Al₂O₃ content, the hardness and wear resistance of the composite coatings enhanced. The PRC composite coatings exhibited compact surface, high hardness, better wear resistance and lower macro-residual stress compared with that of the dc composite coatings.     

Microwave-absorbing and mechanical properties of carbonyl-iron/epoxy-silicone resin coatings

Coatings with flake carbonyl-iron particles as absorber and epoxy-silicone resins as matrix were prepared. The complex permittivity, complex permeability and microwave-absorbing properties were investigated in the frequency range of 2-18 GHz. Both the real part of permittivity and permeability were increased with carbonyl-iron weight concentration. The minimum reflection loss shifts to the low-frequency region with increase in carbonyl-iron weight concentrations. The minimum reflection loss value of −42.5 dB was obtained at 10.6 GHz for the coatings with 55 wt% carbonyl-iron. The values of adhesive power and impact strength are up to 24 MPa and 50 kg cm, respectively. These results show that the coatings possess good microwave-absorbing and mechanical properties.     

Effects of pulsed bias duty ratio on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings

TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings were deposited on M2 high speed steel by a pulsed bias arc ion plating system. The effect of pulsed bias duty ratio on the microstructure, mechanical and wear properties was investigated. The amount of macroparticles reduced with the increase of the duty ratio. The surface roughness was 0.0858 μm at duty ratio of 50%. TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings were crystallized with orientations in the (1 1 1), (2 0 0) (2 2 2) and (3 1 1) crystallographic planes and the microstructure strengthened at (1 1 1) preferred orientation. At duty ratio of 20%, the hardness of TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings reached a maximum of 3004 HV, which was 3.2 times that of the substrate. The adhesion strength reached a maximum of 77 N at 50% duty ratio. Friction and wear analyses were carried out by pin-on-disc tester at room temperature. Compared with the substrate, all the specimens coated with TiN/TiAlN multilayer coatings exhibited better tribological properties.     

Low-phosporous nickel-coated carbon microcoils: Controlling microstructure through an electroless plating process

Carbon microcoils (CMCs) have been coated with a nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) film using an electroless plating process, with sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent in an alkaline bath. CMC composites have potential applications as microwave absorption materials. The morphology, elemental composition and phases in the coating layer of the CMCs and Ni-coated CMCs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The effects of process parameters such as pH, temperature and coating time of the plating bath on the phosphorus content and deposition rate of the electroless Ni-P coating were studied. The results revealed that a continuous, uniform and low-phosphorous nickel coating was deposited on the surface of the CMCs for 20 min at pH 9.0, plating bath temperature 70 °C. The as-deposited coatings with approximately 4.5 wt.% phosphorus were found to consist of a mix of nano- and microcrystalline phases. The mean particle size of Ni-P nanoparticles on the outer surface of the CMCs was around 11.9 nm. The deposition rate was found to moderately increase with increasing pH, whereas, the phosphorous content of the deposit exhibited a significant decrease. Moreover, the material of the coating underwent a phase transition between an amorphous and a crystalline structure. The thickness of the deposit and the deposition rate may be controlled through careful variation of the coating time and plating bath temperature.     

Preparation, magnetic and electromagnetic properties of polyaniline/strontium ferrite/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite

Strontium ferrite particles were firstly prepared by sol-gel method and self-propagating synthesis, and then the polyaniline/strontium ferrite/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composites were synthesized through in situ polymerization approach. Structure, morphology and properties of the composite were characterized by various instruments. XRD analysis shows that the output of PANI increases with the increase of the content of MWCNTs, due to the large surface area of MWCNTs. Because of the coating of PANI, the outer diameter of MWCNTs increases from 10 nm to 20-40 nm. The electrical conductivity of the composites increases with the amount increase of MWCNTs and reaches 7.2196 S/cm in the presence of 2 g MWCNTs. The coercive force of the composites prepared with 2 g MWCNTs is 7457.17 Oe, which is much bigger than that of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ particles 6145.6 Oe, however, both the saturation magnetization and the remanent magnetization of the composite become much smaller than those of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ particles. The electromagnetic properties of the composite are excellent in the frequency range of 2-18 GHz, which mainly depend on the dielectric loss in the range of 2-9 GHz, and mainly on the magnetic loss in the range of 9-18 GHz.     

Effect of the dispersibility of ZrO2 nanoparticles in Ni-ZrO2 electroplated nanocomposite coatings on the mechanical properties of nanocomposite coatings

ZrO₂ nanoparticles was uniformly co-deposited into a nickel matrix by electroplating of nickel from a Watts bath containing particles in suspension which were monodispersed with dispersant under DC electrodeposition condition. It was found that morphology, orientation and hardness of the nanocomposite coatings with monodispersed ZrO₂ nanoparticles had lots of difference from the nanocomposite coatings with agglomerated ZrO₂ nanoparticles and pure nickel coatings. Especially, the result of hardness showed that only a very low volume percent (less than 1 wt.%) of monodispered ZrO₂ nanoparticles in Ni-ZrO₂ nanocomposite coatings would result in higher hardness of the coatings. The hardness of Ni-ZrO₂ nanocomposite coatings with monodispersed and agglomerated ZrO₂ nanoparticles were 529 and 393 HV, respectively. The hardness value of the former composite coatings was over 1.3 times higher than that of the later. All these composite coatings were two-three times higher than that of pure nickel plating (207 HV) prepared under the same condition. The strengthening mechanisms of the Ni-ZrO₂ nanocomposite coatings based on a combination of grain refinement strengthening from nickel matrix grain refining and dispersion strengthening from dispersion state of ZrO₂ nanoparticles in the coatings.     

Influence of reactive gas and temperature on structural properties of magnetron sputtered CrSiN coatings

CrSiN coatings were deposited on stainless steel (Grade: SA304) and silicon Si(1 0 0) substrates, with varying argon-nitrogen gas proportions and deposition temperature, using reactive magnetron sputtering technique in the present work. The influence of sputtering (Ar) and reactive gas proportions (N₂) and temperature on the structural properties of the CrSiN coating was investigated. A small amount of silicon content (3.67 at.% Si) plays a crucial role in addition to the nitrogen content for the formation of different phases in the CrSiN coatings as observed in the present work. For example, the coating with comparatively low nitrogen content, 40% N₂, during deposition, formed a crystalline structure consisting of nano-crystalline CrN which is separated by an amorphous SiN phase, as evident from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The formation of CrN(1 1 1) and Cr₂N(1 1 1) phases has occurred at 30% N₂ with 3.67% Si content, which transformed in to CrN(1 1 1) and CrN(2 0 0) with increase in N₂ content but with same Si content. The surface topography and morphology of the coatings were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. A less columnar growth is observed in CrSiN coatings deposited at low argon content, Ar:N₂ (20:80), and with 3.67 at.% Si in the coatings. However, it becomes dense with increase in nitrogen content and temperature. The XRD analysis showed that the intensity of a dominating peak (1 1 1) is decreasing from (80:20) to (60:40) argon:nitrogen environment. With a further increase of nitrogen content, from (60:40), in the sputtering gas mixture, to (40:60) argon-nitrogen, there is a sudden increase in (1 1 1) peak and above (40:60), the peak reduction rate is very slow than the previous one. The (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) peak intensity variations are very limited due to high nitrogen content, above 50%, and considerable amount of Si atoms, 3.67 at.%, present in the CrN coatings.     

Electromagnetic and microwave absorption properties of Fe3O4 magnetic films plated on hollow glass spheres

Magnetic hollow spheres of low density were prepared by plating Fe₃O₄ magnetic films on hollow glass spheres using ferrite plating. The complex permeability and permittivity of spheres–wax composites were measured in the range of 2–18 GHz. The complex permeability and permittivity increased, and the dielectric and magnetic losses were improved as the volume fraction of the magnetic spheres in the composites increased from 60% to 80%, which also resulted in a great improvement of microwave absorption properties. For composites with volume fraction 80%, its magnetic resonance frequency was at about 13 GHz and it appeared three loss peaks in the calculated reflection loss curves; the bandwidth less than −10 dB was almost 4 GHz which was just in the Ku-band frequencies (12–18 GHz) and a minimum reflection loss of −20 dB was obtained when the thickness was 2.6 mm; the microwave absorbing properties were mainly due to the magnetic loss. The results showed that the magnetic spheres composites were good and light microwave absorbers in the Ku-band frequencies.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of Ni-Y2O3 composite

Nano-sized Y₂O₃ particles were codeposited with nickel by electrolytic plating from a nickel sulfate bath. The effects of the incorporated Y₂O₃ on the structure, morphology and mechanical properties (including microhardness, friction coefficient and wear resistant) of Ni-Y₂O₃ composite coatings were studied. It is observed that the addition of nano-sized Y₂O₃ particles shows apparent influence on the reduction potential and pH of the electrolyte. The incorporated Y₂O₃ increases from 1.56 wt.% to 4.4 wt.% by increasing the Y₂O₃ concentration in the plating bath from 20 to 80 g/l. XRD results reveal that the incorporated Y₂O₃ particles favour the crystal faces (2 0 0) and (2 2 0). SEM and AFM images demonstrate that the addition of Y₂O₃ particles causes a smooth and compact surface. The present study also shows that the codeposited Y₂O₃ particles in deposits decrease the friction coefficient and simultaneously reduce the wear weight loss. Ni-Y₂O₃ composite coatings reach their best microhardness and tribological properties at Y₂O₃ content 4.4 wt.% under the experiment conditions.