Evaluation of the Multi-Structural Potential of Ni-Co/SiC Nanocomposite Coatings Electrodeposited in API 5L X80 Steel

The use of nanocomposite coatings on carbon steel has been very promising. In this paper, the formation mechanism of multilayer of Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coating electrodeposited in API 5L X80 steel was investigated. The coatings were obtained by galvanostatic deposition technique using a single bath and a single cathodic current density value. The results showed a variation in morphology and chemical composition of the coatings both on the surface and along the cross-section at all time conditions tested, confirming the functional gradient of the coating. The formation of the Ni-Co/SiC nanocomposite coating occurred through the multilayer deposition mechanism, with compositions mostly alternated between Ni and Co. The preferred orientation of the plane (220) and phase structure FCC remained constant on the surface of all the obtained samples. It was observed that the coating became more compact in the region located closer to the substrate, where an increase in micro-hardness was observed.