Fabrication and characterization of Ni-ZrO2 composite nano-coatings by pulse electrodeposition

The Ni-ZrO2 composite nano-coatings were prepared by pulse electrodeposition (PC) and pulse reversed electrodeposition (PRC) separately, and pure Ni coating was also prepared as a comparison. The micro-structure of the coatings was characterized by environmental scanning electron microscopy, and the hardness and wear performance of the coatings were also investigated. The results showed that the micro-structure and performance of the coatings were greatly affected by the electrodeposition methods. Ni-ZrO2 composite nano-coatings exhibited higher hardness and better wear resistance compared with that of the pure nickel coatings under the same electrodeposition conditions, and wear weight losses of PC and PRC composite nano-coatings were also lower than that of DC composite nano-coatings. The results revealed that PRC composite nano-coatings possess excellent wear resistance properties.