Study of wear and corrosion resistance of co-deposited Ni-W–P coatings with AlN particles

Abstract

In this study, high-performance Ni-W–P/AlN composite coatings were fabricated through pulsed electrodeposition. Subsequently, the effect of the introduction of AlN nanoparticles on the properties of Ni-W–P coatings was investigated and further determined the optimum addition of AlN particles. The results indicate that the incorporation of AlN nanoparticles reduces the coating’s grain size and mitigates microcrack defects observable in Ni-W–P coatings. Of significance, a bath concentration of 1.5 g/L AlN yields the coating with the most superior characteristics. Due to the enhancement of the mechanical properties of the coating by AlN, the hardness of the Ni-W–P/AlN composite coating is increased from 360.6 (Ni-W–P coating) to 620.7 HV, and the average coefficient of friction was decreased from 0.601 (Ni-W–P coating) to 0.356. Furthermore, the coating’s corrosion resistance was examined in a 3.5% NaCl solution, which had a 4.93 mg/L dissolved oxygen level, to assess its durability under corrosive conditions. Notably, the charge transfer resistance (R_ct) sees a substantial increase, rising from 2256 Ω·cm² (Ni-W–P coating) to 1.88 × 10⁴ Ω·cm², while the corrosion current density experiences a decline, dropping from 24.17 (Ni-W–P coating) to 1.78 μA/cm². This study provides a new direction for the development of a high-performance anticorrosive and wear-resistant coating strategy.