Tribological and Micro-Structural Characterization of Ni-Cu-P-W Coatings

Abstract

Ni-Cu-P-W coating was deposited by electroless method on mild steel substrate to study the crystallization and tribological behavior at different annealing temperatures. Energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) were used to study the composition, surface morphology, phase behavior, and thermal behavior of the coating, respectively. Tribological study was conducted using Pin-on-Disc tribotester. EDX analysis confirms the presence of Ni, Cu, P, and W in the deposit. SEM image shows the surface is dense, smooth, and without any observable nodule. Some of the samples were heat treated to 300°C, 500°C, and 700°C for 1 hour to observe the crystallographic change by XRD. One sharp crystalline peak of Ni (111) is present in all condition, but the intensity increases rapidly with the heat treatment temperature. The phase transition temperature of this quaternary coating analyzed by DSC was 431.8°C.