Structure and Properties of Electro Co-Deposited Ni-Fe/ZrO2 Nanocomposites from Ethylene Glycol Bath

Ni-Fe/ZrO2 nanocomposite coatings were prepared by electrodeposition under direct current condition from nickel sulfamate and ferrous sulphate bath with ZrO2 nanopowder using ethylene glycol as a solvent. Plating parameters like current density, concentration of ZrO2 particles and electrolytes, temperature and agitation were optimized in terms of particle incorporation, microhardness and brightness of the deposits. Morphology, composition, micro and crystallographic structures of the coatings were investigated by SEM, EDAX, XRD and TEM. The iron content in the deposit varies from 38.2% to 19.1% showing fcc lattice by the Ni-Fe alloy matrix. Due to incorporation of ZrO2 particles in Ni-Fe matrix average crystallite size of the deposit reduces to ~11 nm. The effect of current density and annealing temperature on microstructure, texture and microhardness was studied. With increasing current density from 1.0 to 5.0 A/dm2 there is shifting of preferred orientation from (111) to (220) crystallographic plane.