Electrodeposited Ni-Co Films from Electrolytes with Different Co Contents

Ni–Co alloy coatings were electrodeposited at various cobalt amounts on pretreated steel substrates. The co-deposition phenomenon of Ni-Co alloys was described as anomalous behaviour. Different techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and potentiodynamic polarization were used to characterize the alloy coatings. EDX results showed that the Co content increase with the enhancing of Co amount. SEM images have shown that the increase of Co amount leads grain developing from large grain to branched grain form and that goes through spherical and pyramidal, this implies that the grain size of these alloy coatings is greatly affected by Co amount in the electrolyte baths. XRD patterns revealed that the phase structure of Ni–Co coatings is dramatically changed from fcc into hcp structure with the increase of Co amount. The electrochemical properties of Ni-Co alloy coatings evaluated in 3.5% NaCl solution reveal that Ni–34.32 wt.% Co alloy exhibits better corrosion resistance compared to pure Ni and other Ni–Co alloy coatings.