An investigation on electroless Cu–P composite coatings with micro and nano-SiC particles

•Cu–P composite with micro and nano-SiC were deposited by electroless plating.•The coatings showed crystallisation structure.•The size of SiC particles did not change the structure of coatings.•Cu–P/nano-SiC coatings showed the best chemical, physical and mechanical properties.

Cu–P/micro-SiC and Cu–P/nano-SiC composite coatings were deposited by electroless plating and their composition and microstructure were observed by EDX (energy-dispersive analysis), SEM (scanning electron microscope) and XRD (X-ray diffraction). The corrosion resistance, microhardness and the wear resistance of the Cu–P/nano-SiC composite coatings were measured and the comparison with those of Cu coatings and Cu–P/micro-SiC coatings were given. The anti-corrosion properties of Cu coatings were investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution by the potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Among three kinds of Cu–P based coatings, the corrosion resistance, hardness and wear resistance of Cu–P/nano-SiC coatings were the largest. This indicates that the precipitation of nano-SiC particles would improve the corrosion resistance, hardness and wear resistance of the Cu–P coatings significantly.