Production and characterization of Ni and Cu composite coatings by electrodeposition reinforced with carbon nanotubes or graphite nanoplatelets

Electrodeposition is well-known as a versatile and economical processing technique to produce metal coatings on conductive substrates. Recently, it has been gaining increasing interest also for the production of tailored composite coatings, containing for instance floropolymers or silicon carbide. A more novel approach concerns the use of carbon nanotubes or even graphene, in the form of graphite nano-platelets. The production of Ni- and Cu-based nanocomposites containing carbon nanoreinforcements was carried out by using standard electrodeposition conditions, but with a particular attention to the dispersion of the nanotubes. The obtained coatings were strong and well adherent to the steel substrate, and presented rather well dispersed carbon nanotubes or graphite nanoplatelets, even if some agglomerates could be present in samples obtained from highly concentrated suspensions. In the case of nickel-based composite coatings, the size of nickel grains was reduced, and pin-on-disc tests demonstrated a significant increase in the life of the coating. In the case of copper-based composite coatings, thermal diffusivity measurements demonstrated that the carbon nanomaterial does not reduce the conductivity of the pure copper coating.