ELECTROLESS PLATING NICKEL-PHOSPHORUS ON Cf/Mg COMPOSITES

The surfaces of T300 carbon fiber reinforced AZ91 composites were electroless nickel plated by using basic nickel carbonate as the main salts.The chemical composition and microstructure of coatings were examined by scanning electron microscope(SEM),energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) and X-ray diffraction.The results showed that after electroless nickel plating the composites surface showed an uniform-distributed and continuous nodule-like morphology,the coatings were homogenous,dense without defects.Main components of the coatings were nickel and phosphorus,being an amorphous with 8.5% phosphorus,the nickel plating exhibited good corrosion resistance.The potentiodynamic polarization indicated that the open circuit potential of the composites increased after the electroless nickel plating,which suggested that electroless nickel plating can improve the corrosion resistance of the carbon fiber reinforced magnesium composites remarkably.