Corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of pulse electrodeposited Ni–TiO2 composite coating for sintered NdFeB magnet

Ni–TiO2 composite coating which was prepared under pulse current conditions was successfully performed on sintered NdFeB magnet. As a comparison, pure nickel coating was also prepared. The phase structure, the surface morphology, the chemical composition, the anti-corrosion performance of the coatings for magnets, the microhardness and the wearing resistance performance of the coatings were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), electrochemical technique, Vickers hardness tester and ball-on-disc tribometer, respectively. The results revealed that Ni–TiO2 composite coating provided excellent anti-corrosion performance for the magnets, and showed higher microhardness and better anti-wear performance.