Mechanical and corrosion properties of electrochemically deposited Ni-Nb₂O₅ composite coatings on mild steel for marine applications

Abstract

The Nickel-Niobium Pentoxide Composite Coating is formed by electrochemically depositing nickel (Ni) and niobium pentoxide (Nb₂O₅). An investigation was conducted on corrosion resistance, microhardness, roughness, and deposit morphology. A comparison was made between composites and pure nickel coatings in scratch and contact angle tests. There is a homogeneous particle distribution with a maximum particle size of 99.27 µm in the coating. Adding Nb₂O₅ particles to the composite coating improved corrosion resistance with a maximum inhibitory efficiency of 87.9%. An increase of 44% in microhardness was observed for the Ni-Nb₂O₅ composite coating. The scratch test revealed no adhesion cracks and delamination at the surface of the cracks. The composite coating exhibited a hydrophobic nature in the contact angle measurement.

Keywords:

• Electrodeposition
• nickel
• niobium oxide
• corrosion resistance

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.