Dispersion of Strengthening Particles on the Nickel-Iron-Silicon Nitride Nanocomposite Coating

Nickel-iron-silicon nitride nanocomposite coatings were prepared by electrodeposition technique. The deposition was performed at current density of 11.5 A dm-2. Nano-size silicon nitride was mixed in the electrolyte bath as dispersed phase. The effects of silicon nitride nanoparticulates in the nickel-iron nanocomposite coating were investigated in relation to the concentration of silicon nitride in the plating bath. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the deposited nickel iron alloy coating has face-centered cubic structure (FCC). However, a mixture of body-centered cubic (BCC) and face-centered cubic (FCC) phases were observed for nickel iron-silicon nitride nanocomposite coatings. . The change of crystal structure to FCC + BCC is due to the higher Fe content in the deposit. The crystallite size of Ni-Fe nanocomposite coating decreased with increasing concentration of silicon nitride in the coating. An increase of silicone nitride in electrolyte solution leads to the increase in surface roughness of the nickel-iron-silicon nitride nanocomposite.