Production of B4C reinforced Ni-Co plating by electrochemical method

Due to its superior properties Ni-Co based coatings have wide application areas in industrial and technological fields. Coating layers which are used in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems and Nano Electro Magnetic Systems and whose thickness starts from the nanometer level and reaches to the millimeter level according to the usage area are required. For applications mentioned above, in addition to superior magnetic, mechanical, high abrasion and corrosion resistance, low internal stress and high thermal stability are demanded from these coatings. Ni-Co based coatings are a very good example for such applications. In this study, Ni-Co coatings and B4C-reinforced Ni-Co coating layers on copper substrates were produced using Watt type bath in three different current types as DC, Pulse Current (PC) and Pulse Reverse Current (PRC). The effects of current densities on the properties of coatings produced with different current types have been examined. Obtained coatings were characterized using Optical, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. It has been found that the thickness of the coating layer generally increases with the increase of the current densities. The linearity of the coating thickness graph is deteriorated with the increase of the current density at the high current densities of the PRC current type. Keywords: B4C, Ni-Co, Coatings, Composite, Electrodeposition