Synthesis of Ni/TiC composite coating by infiltration sintering of electrophoretic deposited layers

Abstract In this study, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was employed as a practical way to form porous structure of TiC-based layer. The porous medium was infiltrated successfully by a Ni-based melt phase at 1060 °C to fabricate Ni/TiC composite coatings. It was revealed that EPD parameters such as voltage affect the volume fraction of TiC particles in the sintered layer. It was indicated that electroless deposition of Ni-P shell on TiC core particles before EPD was necessary to enhance the melt penetration into the TiC porous matrix and hence to densify the porous medium. Microstructure and phase characterization were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that TiC particles were well distributed through a matrix composed of primary γ-Ni phase. The average hardness of the sintered composite coating was 1540 Vickers, which is sufficiently high to make them good candidates for wear resistance applications.