Effect of deposition temperature on wear and electrochemical behavior of Ni–Co–P/SiC coatings via ultrasonic-assisted pulse electrodeposition

To investigate the effect of temperature on the properties of ultrasonic-assisted pulse electrodeposited nanocomposite coatings, Ni–Co–P/SiC composite coatings were prepared on the surface of AISI 1045 steel at different temperatures. The microstructure, phase composition, microhardness, thickness and surface roughness, wear behavior, water contact angle, electrochemical behavior, and post-corrosion morphology of the coatings were characterized. It was found that at 55 °C, the SiC content reached its highest value of 1.0 at.%. At 60 °C, the microhardness reached its maximum value of 722.3 HV_0.1, the coefficient of friction of the coating reached its minimum value of 0.573, the wear rate reached its minimum value of 5.18 × 10⁴ μm³/N·m, the water contact angle reached its maximum value of 106.4°, and E_corr, I_corr, and R_ct reached their highest value of −0.446 V, lowest value of 1.111 μA·cm⁻², and maximum value of 6565.1 Ω·cm², respectively. The wear behavior of the coating was primarily because of abrasive wear and adhesive wear, with minor oxidative wear. The main forms of corrosion damage were pitting, cracking, and spalling. Coatings that performed better in electrochemical tests exhibited relatively smoother surface morphologies after corrosion. Conversely, the coatings that were prepared at temperatures that either too low or too high temperatures developed more pronounced evident surface defects following corrosion.