Microfabrication and Characterization of High Tensile Strength SiC Whisker-Reinforced Nickel Composite Coatings by Electrodeposition

Metal matrix composite materials with SiC whiskers are considered as the reinforcement materials for the future electronic devices. However, today, these materials are mostly produced at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) environments, these procedures are not only costly but may also alter the microstructure. In order to explore an economically more viable approach of fabrication of multilayer movable complicated microstructures, SiC whiskers-reinforced nickel matrix composites (Ni/SiCw) coatings were prepared by electrolytic co-deposition method. The surface morphology and mechanical properties of the electrodeposited coatings, fabricated in both absence and presence of SiC whisker, were studied. Morphology studies showed a homogenous presence of the whisker intercalated at the surface of the nickel matrix; this was further confirmed from the results of XPS and TEM, which also demonstrated that the insertion of the whisker went from the surface to inside. Moreover, it was found that the embedded whiskers significantly affect mechanical properties of the composite coatings: the ultimate tensile strength of Ni/SiCw composite was 2.6 times higher than that of pure Ni, and the elastic modulus improved by 42% with 0.8 g/L of SiC whiskers in the bath. These results reveal the promising potential of electrodeposited metal-SiC whiskers composite materials for micro-mechanical devices application. (C) The Author(s) 2019. Published by ECS.