Effect of Al particle size on the microstructure and wear properties of the co-deposited Ni-Al composite coatings

Abstract

Micrometer and nanometer Al particles were codeposited with nickel by electrodeposition from a nickel sulfate bath containing a similar content of Al particles. The microstructure, the friction and wear performance of the co-deposited Ni-Al composite coatings were comparatively evaluated. The results indicated that the co-deposition of smaller nanometer Al particles with Ni effectively reduces the size of Ni crystals and significantly increases the hardness of the composite coatings due to grain-refinement strengthening and dispersion-strengthening, resulting in a significant improvement of wear resistance of the Ni-Al nanocomposite coatings. The effect of Al particles size on the microstructure, friction and wear resistance is discussed in detail.