Electrodeposition and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Ni-Fe Alloys

Abstract

Nanocrystalline Ni-Fe deposits with different composition and grain sizes were fabricated by electrodeposition. Deposits with iron contents in the range from 7 to 31% were obtained by changing the Ni 2+ /Fe 2+ mass ratio in the electrolyte. The deposits were found to be nanocrystalline with average grain size in the range 20–30 nm. The surface morphology was found to be dependent on Ni 2+ /Fe 2+ mass ratio as well as electroplating time. The grains size decreased with increasing the iron content, especially in case of short time electroplating. Increasing the electroplating time had no significant effect on grain size. The microhardness of the materials followed the regular Hall-Petch relationship with a maximum value (762 Hv) when applying Ni 2+ /Fe 2+ mass ratio equal to 9.8.