Research for electrodeposited superhydrophobic Ni-W-WS2 coating and its anticorrosion and wear resistance

In this work, with the help of pulsed electrodeposition technology, Ni-W/WS2 superhydrophobic composite coatings on carbon steel surfaces were fabricated. Moreover, the effects of different WS2 concentrations on the surface morphology, microhardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance of Ni-W coatings were also investigated. The results show that the addition of different concentrations of WS2 has a great influence on the microscale and submicron-sized roughness layered surface structure of the superhydrophobic coating surface. Furthermore, the embedding of WS2 also maximizes the wear and corrosion resistance of the Ni-W coating. This is reflected by the fact that the Ni-W/WS2 (0.3 g/L) composite coating possesses the narrowest wear section and the lowest average coefficient of friction (COF=0.14). In 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, the Ni-W/WS2 (0.3 g/L) composite coating has the highest corrosion potential (E-corr=-0.309 V) and the lowest corrosion current density (i(corr)=1.415 mu A.cm(-2)), which show the best corrosion resistance. The related enhancement mechanisms originate from the physical barrier effect of 2D nanosheets and the formation of tribo-transfer films.

Automated summary

This work focuses on fabricating Ni-W/WS2 superhydrophobic composite coatings on carbon steel surfaces using pulsed electrodeposition technology and investigating the effects of different WS2 concentrations on the surface morphology, microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of Ni-W coatings. It is found that the addition of WS2 can significantly affect the surface roughness and enhance the wear and corrosion resistance of the coatings. The Ni-W/WS2 composite coating with a WS2 concentration of 0.3 g/L exhibits the best wear and corrosion resistance.