ELECTRO-CODEPOSITED Cr-SiC COMPOSITE COATINGS: EFFECT OF THE PULSE-CURRENT FREQUENCY ON MORPHOLOGY AND HARDNESS

Abstract

In this research, submicrometer silicon-carbide (SiC) (APS = 200 nm) ceramic particles were co-deposited with chromium metal (Cr) via an electrodeposition system to fabricate Cr-SiC metal-matrix composite films Phase identifications of the fabricated composite coatings were performed with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and surface morphologies were investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) system attachment. Mechanical properties of the coatings such as hardness were determined under an applied load of 980.7 mN using a micro-hardness tester. It was concluded that SiC ceramic particles were physically adsorbed on the cathode surface forming a composite film structure with Cr metal and that a co-deposition of the sub-micron-sized ceramic particles with metals via an electrodeposition system was successful. In addition, in comparison with the reference coatings, the hardness of the SiC-reinforced composite coatings was increased by up to 50 %. The frequency, being a parameter of pulse current, is determined as an effective parameter in a co-deposition of ceramic particles with metals

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