Factors affecting SiC–ZrO2–MoSi2/Ni antioxidation coating made by composite plating on carbon fibres

Carbon fibres (CF) have been used in various fields because of their unique properties. However, the oxidation resistance ability of CF is not good enough. The paper discusses the issue of using composite plating method to deposit SiC–MoSi2–ZrO2 coating at the surface of CF. The plating factors, including nanoparticle concentration, plating bath temperature, current density, agitation rate and electroplating time, which affect the structure and performance of coating have been discussed. The energy dispersive spectrometer has been applied to test the mass fraction of nanoparticles in the coating. Also, the surface morphology of coated CF has been characterised by a scanning electron microscope and the antioxidation ability of each sample has been tested by the weight difference method. The results indicate that with the proper plating factors, the coating can improve the antioxidation performance of CF and its reinforced composites. The residual weight of coated CF is over 52% after 1400°C oxidation for 15 min.