Morphology and performance of electroless composite plating Ni-P-SiC coating on surface of carbon fiber

In order to improve the wettability and dispersion of carbon fibers in aluminium substrate, Ni-P-SiC coating was prepared on carbon fiber by electroless composite plating. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the coating were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties of the Ni-P coating and Ni-P-SiC coating were measured by single fiber electronic tensile strength tester. Oxidation resistance of the Ni-P coating and Ni-P-SiC coating were investigated by synchronous thermal analyzer. Results show that the tensile strength of Ni-P-SiC coating is weaker than that of Ni-P coating, while the shape parameter of Ni-P-SiC coating, m, is increased by 8.45%. The reliability of the Ni-P-SiC coating is improved. The temperature of largest exothermic peak of Ni-P-SiC coating is 130℃ higher than that of Ni-P coating, which indicates that the oxidation resistance of carbon fiber in Ni-P-SiC coating is significantly improved after electroless composite plating. Besides, the dispersion of Ni-P-SiC-coated carbon fibers in the aluminium substrate is significantly improved, decreasing the aggregation of carbon fiber. Ni-P-SiC coating effectively solves the problem of composition between carbon and aluminum substrate in high temperature. © 2017, Editorial Office of CHINA SURFACE ENGINEERING. All right reserved.