Effect of TiC Particles Concentration on Microstructure and Properties of Ni-TiC Composite Coatings

A kind of novel anti-wear Ni-TiC composite coatings was deposited successfully on 42CrMo steel by pulsed electrodeposition method with various TiC particles concentration. The effect of TiC concentration on morphologies and properties of Ni-TiC composite coatings were investigated and the optimum concentration of TiC particle was obtained. Results demonstrate that TiC particles were distributed uniformly in the Ni-based coatings and Ni-TiC composite coatings consisted of refined nickel nanocrystalline size. When the TiC particles concentration was 32 g/L, the highest volume percentage of TiC particles with 23.9 Vol.% and maximum micro-indentation hardness of the Ni-TiC composite coatings with 475 HV were achieved. Ni-TiC composite coatings show significant improvement in wear resistance in comparison with TiC free Ni-P coating.