The study of morphology and wear behavior of nanocomposite Cr-WC coating produced via electrodeposition with direct and pulse current

Nanocomposite Cr-WC coatings are widely used in different industries due to the favorite characteristics such as high wear and corrosion resistance. In this article, at the first time the nanocomposite Cr-WC coatings are produced via square pulsed and direct current in Watts’ deposition bath containing tungsten carbide particles of 70 nm in diameter. And then the effects of applied current to deposition on the size of tungsten carbide particles, distribution in the coating, homogeneity, hardness and the coatings wear ratio are investigated. The morphology of coating is studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The weight percentage of the tungsten carbide particles and the coatings hardness are determined by EDX composite analysis and Vickers micrometer ingressive hardness system, respectively. The results reveal that the amounts of nanoparticles and homogeneous distribution in the pulse current coating are more than direct current. The coating wear behavior and homogeneity of thickness in pulse current are better than direct current.