Microstructure and mechanical properties of open-cell Ni-foams with hollow struts and NiO oxide layers

Based on electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), open-cell Ni foams fabricated by electroplating on a removable template were investigated. Hollow struts or cavities inside the Ni foams were observed, implying traces of a removable template. The crystallographic orientations and grain structures of the Ni foam struts were also examined. Individual grains of Ni foams covered the struts completely through the thickness direction. The crystallographic orientations of the Ni foam struts display a random distribution. Σ3 twinning boundaries were also observed in the Ni matrix. During a two-hour heat treatment at 1273 K under atmospheric condition, refined NiO layers clearly formed on the surface of the Ni matrix. The overall grain sizes of the NiO are smaller than those of the Ni matrix. The obvious crystallographic relationship between the Ni matrix and the NiO layers was observed at the high misorientation angles. Ni foams with high porosity revealed a stress drop and NiO layers that formed during atmospheric annealing caused a predominant stress drop. Young’s modulus and the hardness of the Ni matrix and NiO layers were measured from a Ni foam cell structure consisting of nodes, by means of nano-indentation tests.