Mechanical plating of Al/CNT composite coatings on aluminum substrates

Al/CNT coatings were deposited on Al substrates by a ball impact treatment method using balls of 3, 4 and 8 mm in diameter and treatment time of 1-4 h under ambient pressure and air atmosphere conditions. The morphology and structure of fabricated coatings were investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Also, the obtained coatings were characterized for microhardness and wear resistance. The results revealed that smaller balls yield better characteristics of coatings as compared with larger balls. The best condition was found to be 3-mm grinding ball and 3-h treatment. It was found that the thickness of hardened layer is about 150 μm for all treatment conditions examined. The Al/CNT coated samples demonstrated a better tribological behavior in comparison with the uncoated Al substrate.