Material characterization and corrosion performance of nickel electroplated in supercritical CO2 fluid

The surface roughness, microhardness, crystal structure and corrosion performance of nickels electroplated at atmospheric pressure and in supercritical CO2 fluid, respectively, are compared. The experimental results showed that nickel electroplated in the latter case exhibited a lower surface roughness and a higher hardness. In HCl solution, the nickel deposited in supercritical CO2 fluid had a lower anodic current density and a higher polarization resistance. The advantage of emulsified supercritical CO2 fluid for electroplating was demonstrated.