Nucleation and growth mechanism of Ni/SiC composite coatings electrodeposited with micro- and nano-SiC particles

To study the nucleation and growth mechanism of Ni/SiC composite coatings, electrodeposition was conducted in the Ni bath containing SiC particles with different sizes. Compared to the Ni coating electrodeposited from the bare Ni bath, the Ni/SiC composite coatings exhibited similar grain size but rougher surface morphology due to the incorporation of SiC particles. By means of chronoamperometry (CA) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) techniques, it was found that the introduction of SiC particles did not change the nucleation mode of Ni: the Scharifker-Hills three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation mode. However, the nucleation sites on the cathode were reduced due to the inert surface and low conductivity of SiC particles. At a step potential of −0.94 V, Ni presented the maximum nucleation density (N₀) of 3.09 × 10⁷ cm⁻², which was reduced by one order of magnitude for the Ni/SiC. Furthermore, SiC particles in the bath would extend the diffusion path of Ni²⁺ ions, resulting in the decrease in diffusion coefficient from 1.04 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹ (Ni) to 9.91 × 10⁻⁹ cm² s⁻¹ (Ni/50 nm SiC), 1.83 × 10⁻⁸ cm² s⁻¹ (Ni/500 nm SiC) and 2.29 × 10⁻⁸ cm² s⁻¹ (Ni/5 μm SiC), suggesting the “Blocking effect”. COMSOL simulation further confirmed the “Blocking effect”. The “Blocking effect” would lead to excessive interface gaps around 5 μm SiC particles due to the uneven electrodeposition of Ni. To address the issue, we proposed that adding non-ionic surfactants into the bath to lower the electrochemical reaction rate of Ni²⁺ ions and accordingly gained composite coatings with fine continuity.