Fabrication of Ni–ZrO2 nanocomposites through a new electroforming bath and Assessment of their morphology, wear, and corrosion resistance

Abstract

Nowadays, researchers are looking for ways to produce complex tools and pieces with high precision at a low cost. In recent decades, electroforming has been an important and stable technique for producing composite parts. In this research, Ni–ZrO2 nanocomposite foils were fabricated by using a nickel-chloride bath through electroforming, a bath not previously utilized for this purpose. In this study, the effects of ZrO2 concentration and direct current density on the volume percentage of ZrO2 nanoparticles and the grain size of the nickel matrix of foils are also investigated. The sample with 13.65 vol % nanoparticles had the highest volume percentage and the minimum nickel grain size of 516.9 nm, which is almost 46 % smaller than the grain size of pure nickel foil. The wear and corrosion behavior of the foils were examined using a pin-on-disk wear test, potentiodynamic polarization, and impedance spectroscopy analysis. The results showed considerable improvement in the wear and corrosion resistance of the Ni–ZrO2 samples compared to the pure electroformed nickel. The nanocomposites exhibit a lower friction coefficient than pure nickel, with a maximum reduction of 44 %. A composite specimen of Ni–ZrO2 had 2.5 % lower corrosion density and 596 % higher charge transfer resistance compared to pure nickel. It was concluded that the nickel-chloride bath has an excellent potential to produce composite nickel foils with acceptable brightness, satisfactory wear, and corrosion resistance.

Keywords

• Electroforming
• Co-deposition
• Ni–ZrO2
• Nickel chloride bath
• Nanocomposite foil