Study of the corrosion behavior of nanocrystalline Ni-P electrodeposited coating

The corrosion behavior of electrodeposited Ni-P coating in 5 pct (in weight) NaCl solution has been studied. The microstructure of the Ni-P electrodeposit displayed a layered structure composed of nanocrystalline grains revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). With the increase in polarization potential and bath temperature, the corrosion rate as well as the weight loss was significantly increased. Under observation by a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), the pitting evolved into larger sizes with a diameter of approximately 30 μm as the temperature and potential were increased to 50 °C and 600 mV_SCE, respectively. Cracks and delamination among the layered structure were found inside the deepened corrosion pit. The increase in surface P content and the trace of the formation of phosphate were also observed by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis.