Nickel-coated carbon fiber-reinforced tin-lead alloy composites

Abstract

Nickel is deposited over pristine, surface-treated, and brominated P-100 carbon fibers using cementation and electroplating techniques. The fibers are brominated by bromine vapor for 48 h and then desorbed at 200 °C in air for 12 h. The anodic oxidation treatment is performed by etching fibers electrochemically in a dilute sodium electrolyte for 3 min or by immersing fibers in nitric acid for 72 h. Electroplated-coated fibers show better tensile properties than cementation-coated fibers. Tin-lead alloy composites reinforced by nickel-coated fibers (which are pristine, anodically oxidized, and brominated) are fabricated by squeeze casting. The composites containing coated carbon fibers with bromination or surface treatment have higher tensile and shear strength than the ones containing coated pristine carbon fibers. In addition, the composite containing coated carbon fibers with brominalion shows the best performance in the tensile properties.