Fabrication of Ni-ZrO2 nanocomposites through a new electroforming bath and Assessment of their morphology, wear, and corrosion resistance

Nowadays, researchers are looking for ways to produce complex tools and pieces with high precision at a low cost. In recent decades, electroforming has been an important and stable technique for producing composite parts. In this research, Ni-ZrO2 2 nanocomposite foils were fabricated by using a nickel-chloride bath through electroforming, a bath not previously utilized for this purpose. In this study, the effects of ZrO2 2 concentration and direct current density on the volume percentage of ZrO2 2 nanoparticles and the grain size of the nickel matrix of foils are also investigated. The sample with 13.65 vol % nanoparticles had the highest volume percentage and the minimum nickel grain size of 516.9 nm, which is almost 46 % smaller than the grain size of pure nickel foil. The wear and corrosion behavior of the foils were examined using a pin-on-disk wear test, potentiodynamic polarization, and impedance spectroscopy analysis. The results showed considerable improvement in the wear and corrosion resistance of the Ni-ZrO2 2 samples compared to the pure electroformed nickel. The nanocomposites exhibit a lower friction coefficient than pure nickel, with a maximum reduction of 44 %. A composite specimen of Ni-ZrO2 2 had 2.5 % lower corrosion density and 596 % higher charge transfer resistance compared to pure nickel. It was concluded that the nickel-chloride bath has an excellent potential to produce composite nickel foils with acceptable brightness, satisfactory wear, and corrosion resistance.