Electrodeposited nickel/alumina composite coating on NdFeB permanent magnets

NdFeB magnets are highly susceptible to corrosion in various environments. A nickel/alumina composite coating for NdFeB magnets was investigated in this paper. The microstructures of electrodeposited nickel coating and nickel/alumina composite coating were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The corrosion behavior of nickel coating and nickel/alumina composite coating in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride solution was studied by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that the nickel coating and nickel/alumina composite coating can both provide adequate protection to the NdFeB substrate. Furthermore, the free corrosion potential of nickel/alumina composite coating is more positive and the passivation region is more obvious compared with nickel coating, and the capacitance loop diameter of nickel/alumina composite coating is significantly larger than that of nickel coating. With the increase in immersion time, a flat of passivation film is formed on the surface of nickel/alumina composite coating, resulting in excellent corrosion resistance after 288 h immersion in 3.5% sodium chloride solution according to EIS testing.