Properties of Zn-Bi composite coatings prepared by ionic co-discharge deposition
(1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, the University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand;
2. Department of Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
3. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China)
2. Department of Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
3. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China)
Abstract: Zn-Bi composite was synthesized by ionic co-discharge deposition and its properties were investigated. The results show that the Zn-Bi composite with the incorporation of Bi has a finer grain size than the pure Zn coating and improves the mechanical properties. The microhardness is increased by approximately two times simply by adding a small amount of Bi electrolyte into a Zn bath solution. A lower volume loss of the Zn-Bi composite coating compared with the pure Zn coating also indicates that the Zn-Bi coating has a better wear resistance.
Key words: Zn-Bi composite coating; ionic co-discharge deposition; electroplating; mechanical properties