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Cu–Sn–Zn nanocomposite coatings prepared by TiO2 sol-enhanced electrodeposition

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Abstract

Cu–Sn–Zn (CSZ) coatings are widely applied in communication devices due to their excellent performance in electrical/thermal conductivity, solderability, and corrosion resistance. Particularly, a novel TiO2–sol-enhanced electrodeposition method has been proposed to prepare CSZ–TiO2 nanocomposite coatings with different volume fractions of TiO2–sol. A series of CSZ–TiO2 nanocomposite coatings were prepared in the current study. The crystal phase, surface morphology, and micro- to nanostructures of sol-enhanced nanocomposite coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Based on the prior research, we studied the microhardness, surface friction behavior, and corrosion behavior of the coatings. Our results indicate that adding 12.5 mL L−1 TiO2–sol increased the average microhardness of CSZ coating from 325 to 421 HV and reduced the corrosion rate by 42.8%. Those results reveal that the TiO2–sol affected the performance of CSZ coatings depends on the volume added. Additionally, we investigated the effects of TiO2–sol volume fraction on the morphology, microhardness, dry sliding wear-resistant capability, and corrosion-resistant capability.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51601073, 51905026, and 51701087), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (buctrc201827), the Research Project of Jiangsu provincial Six Talent Peaks (2018XCL-028) and Jiangsu Distinguished Professor Project (1064901601). The authors also appreciate the help from Mr. Lin Zhang (Jinshi Electroplating Ltd.), Mr. Haixin Zhu (Jinshi Electroplating Ltd.), and Mr. Chris Goode (Cirrus Materials Science Ltd.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, Jiangsu, China

    Yuxin Wang, Weidong Gao, Zhen He, Yunxue Jin & Yanxin Qiao

  2. College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Guang Cheng

  3. Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, The University of Auckland, PB 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Wei Gao

  4. Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, NY, 11794, USA

    Zheg Zhi

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  1. Yuxin Wang
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  2. Weidong Gao
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  3. Zhen He
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Correspondence to Guang Cheng.

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Wang, Y., Gao, W., He, Z. et al. Cu–Sn–Zn nanocomposite coatings prepared by TiO2 sol-enhanced electrodeposition. J Appl Electrochem 50, 875–885 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-020-01442-z

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