High Hardness Nickel - Carbon Nanotubes Composite Electroplating
Bui Hung Thang *
Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), A2 Building, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 122102, Vietnam
Nguyen Xuan Toan
Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), A2 Building, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 122102, Vietnam
Phan Ngoc Minh
Institute of Materials Science (IMS), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), A2 Building, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 122102, Vietnam and Graduate University of Science and Technology (GUST), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), A2 Building, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 122102, Vietnam and Center for High Technology Development (HTD), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), A2 Building, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi 122102, Vietnam
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In this paper we present some results on making Ni/CNTs composite by electroplating technique. The work aims to create an advanced nano-composite coating surfaces by taking superior mechanical properties of the CNTs. The Watts solution was used for nickel plating experiments. We utilized two different methods to disperse CNTs in the Watts solution. In the first method, CNTs were mixed in the Watts solution by ultrasonication. In the second one, the CNTs were chemically functionalized by using diazo coupling reaction in sulfanilic acid (NH2C6H4SO3H) and nitrous acid (HNO2) before mixing in the Watts solution. In order to investigate the role of CNTs additives in coating, nickel was plated onto copper substrates with and without CNTs additives. The Vickers hardness of coatings was measured by Shimadzu Micro Hardness Tester.
Keywords: Nickel, carbon nanotubes, nanocomposite, electroplating, coating