The effect of sliding speed on the wear behavior of pulse electro Co-deposited Ni/MWCNT nanocomposite coatings

• We prepared Ni–MWCNT MMC coatings in Watt׳s type electrolyte by using pulse current.
• The effect of sliding speed and MWCNT content on the wear rate was examined for MMCs.
• Better wear resistance and lower friction coefficient were obtained in 4 g/L Ni–MWCNT.

In this study, Ni/MWCNT nanocomposite coatings were prepared from a modified Watt׳s type electrolyte by using pulse current (PC) plating technique. The influence of multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) content in the electrolyte on the tribological properties of nanocomposites were tested by using a reciprocating ball-on disk apparatus, sliding against to M50 steel ball (Ø 10 mm). Coatings were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis before and after wear testing. Nanocomposite coatings showed wear rate decrease between 1.31 and 1.40 times compared with pure Ni coatings. Friction coefficient decreased from 0.883 for pure Ni coating to 0.419 for the Ni/MWCNT nanocomposite because of graphitization and self lubrication effect of the MWCNTs.

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