Effect of Ultrasonic on Microstructure and Microhardness of Ni-ZrO₂ Nanocomposite Coating

Ni-ZrO2 nanocomposite coating was prepared by composite electro-plating method under ultrasonic effect condition.The crystal orientation and surface morphology of the composite coating were analyzed by XRD and SEM.The microhardness of the coating was tested.The results show that compared with the coating without ultrasonic the preferential orientation of the Ni-ZrO2 nanocomposite coating prepared under ultrasonic condition was formed in(200)crystal face,the relative texture coefficient of the crystal face was significantly increased which was up to 93%.Owing to ultrasonic violent agitation and ultrasonic cavitation effect,the Ni-ZrO2 nanocomposite coating had refined crystal grain,compact microstructure and high microhardness,which reached 602 HV and was much higher than without ultrasonic(497 HV).