Corrosion resistance of multilayer coatings of nanolayered Cr/Ni electrodeposited from Cr(III)-Ni(II) bath

In this study the corrosion resistance of chromium and nickel single layers and multilayer coatings of nanolayered Cr/Ni, electrodeposited from Cr(III)-Ni(II) baths on low carbon steel substrates, has been studied. The coatings were electrodeposited from a bath using pulse current and modulated agitation. The total thickness of single layer and multilayer coatings was fixed at 5 μm and multilayer coatings with different modulation wavelengths and Cr to Ni thickness ratio were electrodeposited. Corrosion behavior of coatings was then studied by using potentiodynamic polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 0.1 M H₂SO₄. The results showed that Cr and Ni single layers had low corrosion resistance due to the presence of surface cracks and pores, respectively. On the other hand, optimized 20 nm Cr/50 nm Ni multilayer deposition significantly improved corrosion resistance.