Nano-Grain Ni/ZrO2 Functional Gradient Coating Fabricated by Double Pulses Electrodeposition with Enhanced High Temperature Corrosion Performance
Wen Ge, Taisong He, Meijiao Wang, Jiamei Li
Abstract
Functional gradient materials (FGM) have many excellent properties, and high-performance gradient coating exhibits good prospective application. In this paper, the nano-grain Ni/ZrO2 gradient coating was prepared by double pulse electrodeposition (BP). The surface morphology, crystal structure and electrochemical corrosion resistance of the nano-grain Ni/ZrO2 coating and Ni coating, annealed at different temperatures (400–800 °C), have been compared. In the vertical direction to the substrate surface, the content of ZrO2 increases from 0% to 34.99%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the average crystal size of Ni/ZrO2 gradient coating gradually increases from 13.75 to 27.75 nm, and the crystal structure is a face-centered cubic (FCC). The main crystal orientation faces are (111) and (200), while the (200) face exhibited a stronger preferred orientation. Compared with the Ni coating by scanning electron microscopy, the surface morphology of double pulse fabricated Ni/ZrO2 gradient coating was revealed as being smoother, denser, and having fewer pores, and the crystal particle size distribution became narrow. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that the chemical binding states of elements Ni and Zr have been altered. The binding energies of 2p3/2 and 2p1/2 for Ni have been increased, resulting in a higher electron donor state of Ni. The binding energy of 3d5/2 and 3d3/2 of Zr4+ in ZrO2 is decreased, thus becoming better electron acceptors. Chemical bonding has been formed at the Ni/ZrO2 interface. This study demonstrated that double pulse electrodeposition is a promising fabrication method for functional gradient coatings for high temperature applications.