Effect of codeposition of mixed nanoparticles (V2O5 and ZrO2) on the structure and properties of Ni-B nanocomposite coating

Highlights: • Significant changes in structure and properties are observed. • The crystallinity and the surface irregularity are observed to increase. • The surface morphology is observed to become rough and cauliflower type. • Hardness and the elastic modulus are observed improve significantly. • Corrosion resistance is observed to improve by more than three times. In the present research, Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ hybrid composite coating is prepared from an aqueous electrolyte using direct current. The properties of the hybrid composite is compared to that of the Ni-B coating in order to highlight the benefits of the addition of the two different nano-particles (V₂O₅ and ZrO₂) into the Ni-B coating matrix. The incorporation of the mixed nano-particles is observed to significantly affect the structure, nano-mechanical and electrochemical properties of the coating. It has been observed to increase the crystallinity of the Ni-B coating. The surface morphology of the Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ coating and that of the Ni-B coating is observed to be consisting of similar type of grain clusters. However, in the case of the Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ composite coating, the clusters are observed to be smaller in size with occasional protrusion. The overall surface roughness of the Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ is observed to be higher than that of the Ni-B coating because of the protrusions. The hardness and the elastic modulus of the Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ hybrid composite are observed to be almost 170% and 70% more than that of the Ni-B nanocomposite coating. The protectiveness provided by the Ni-B-V₂O₅/ZrO₂ is observed to be better than that of the Ni-B coating by more than three times.