Influence of Type of Bath Agitation (Magnetic Stirring and Rotating Disk Cathode) on Tribological Properties of Nickel Electrodeposits

Abstract

In this study, nickel coatings were electrodeposited by magnet stirrer process and rotating disk cathode with a pulse power source. The surface morphology and cross-section observations were made using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The results showed that there was cauliflower morphology for all samples that were electrodeposited from a bath agitated with a magnet stirrer. On the other hand, only the nickel coating that was deposited on a rotating disk cathode at 4 A/dm² had the cauliflower morphology. By using the rotating disk cathode process the current efficiency was decreased. Also, with increasing the current density for all samples the surface roughness was decreased. The loss of mass diagram, worn surface micrograph and friction-distance profile indicated that the wear resistance of the nickel coatings that were produced by magnet stirrer process at 2 A/dm² and rotating disk cathode process at 4 A/dm² were lower than the other coatings.