Forced Electrocodeposition of Nickel/Silica by Horizontal Impinging Jet Cell

The improvement of silica particle codeposition into a nickel electrodeposited composite coating (ECC) by a double face horizontal impinging jet cell (IJC) has been studied. The microstructure of coatings was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy performed in backscattered electron mode. The embedded particles distribution was shown to be the densest and the most uniform in laminar low flow mode and when the nozzle is at a distance of 5 mm close from the cathode. Excrescences observed on the composite surface are due to the wave-like flow of the jet on the cathode surface. The silica content of the nickel composite coatings was assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of particles embedded in the coating decreases with an increasing Reynolds number and as the nozzle-to-sample distance d becomes larger. A maximum rate of 4.43 wt% of silica has been successfully loaded at a distance d equal to 5 mm in the Ni-SiO₂ composite coating.