Synthesis of Pulse Electrodeposited Functionally Graded (Cu, Cu-SiC) Nanocomposite on Annealed Copper

The surface of engineering materials plays an important role in their performance. A functionally graded Copper (Cu), Copper- Silicon Carbide (Cu-SiC) nanocomposite coatings have been prepared by pulse electrodeposition (PED) techniques. A slow gradient of pure Cu has been deposited on annealed Cu by employing optimized deposition parameters. It has been observed that morphology of Cu changes significantly with the deposition parameters. Then Cu-SiC nanocomposite coating has been deposited on pure Cu coatings. An attempt has been made to correlate the morphology of pure Cu as well as Cu-SiC coatings with the deposition parameters. The hardness and wear properties of the functionally graded nanocomposite coatings have been compared with those of the Cu-SiC monolayer coating.