Microstructure, Wear and Corrosion Behaviors of Electrodeposited Ni-Diamond Micro-Composite Coatings

For the micro-milling of hard and brittle materials, to avoid crack formation, a tool with ductile milling mode is required. Composite electrodeposition technology was used to prepare a Ni–diamond coating on the surface of brass. The surface microstructure, composition and surface roughness of the coating were studied with a scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and roughness tester. The adhesion strength was studied by scratch test, the wear resistance was analyzed by wear test, and the corrosion resistance was investigated by Tafel curves and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). It was found that the distribution of diamond particles of the Ni–diamond coating was relatively uniform, and the content was relatively high. The internal stress of the coating prepared by the composite electrodeposition technology was very low. With the incorporation of the diamond particles, the surface roughness of the coating tended to decrease. The wear experiment showed that the wear scar diameter of the corresponding glass ball for the Ni coating was 1.775 mm and the roughness was 13.88 ± 2.811 µm, while that for the Ni–diamond coating was 2.680 mm and 8.35 ± 0.743 µm, respectively, indicating that the tool coating with uniform diamond particles had a strong ability to process workpieces with significantly improved surface quality. The particle press-in mechanism not only improved the wear resistance of the coating, but helped to prolong the service life of the tool. The results of the EIS test and Tafel curves showed that the Ni–diamond coating had a lower corrosion current, and the corrosion resistance of the coating surface was improved. The experimental results showed that the micro-diamond coating prepared by the composite electrodeposition technology had good bonding strength, low internal stress, and significantly improved wear resistance and corrosion resistance.