Impact of CaCl2 as crystal modifier on wettability and surface roughness of hierarchical structured NiCo-CeO2 coating

The aim of the present work is to study the impact of the crystal modifier of CaCl2 on the morphology,wettability and roughness of the NiCo-CeO2 coating. This composite coating in the presence and absence ofCaCl2 was fabricated on plain carbon steel by one-step electrodeposition and its properties were investigatedby SEM-EDS, water contact angle test and AFM. The presence of CaCl2 in the deposition electrolyte refinedthe coating's structure on the nano scale. The EDS maps showed a homogeneous distribution of Ce within thecoating. Changing the morphology by CaCl2 significantly increased the water contact angle. The achievedsuperhydrophobicity could be beneficial to improve the corrosion resistance of the coating through limitingthe contact of corrosive environment with substrate. The surface roughness was another surface featureinfluenced by morphology, playing a substantial role in the water repelling from the surface.

Impact of CaCl2 as crystal modifier on wettability and surface roughness of hierarchical structured NiCo-CeO2 coating Keywords:

Electrodeposition , Crystal modifier , NiCo/CeO2 coating , CaCl2 , Morphology , Wettability , Roughness