Study of Glycerol as an Additive in Ni-Mo Electrodeposition

This paper evaluates the effect of adding glycerol to the electrodeposition bath on the deposition efficiency and characteristics of Ni-Mo coating in concentrations ranging from 0.07 to 0.82 mol.L^-1. Evaluation of the corrosion resistance was performed by means of weight loss tests in four different periods of immersion. Electrochemical techniques, such as obtaining polarization curves, linear polarization resistance, corrosion current density, corrosion potential, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were applied. Corrosion measurements were obtained in 0.5 mol.L^-1 NaCl acid solution and 0.5 mol.L^-1 NaOH alkaline solution. The morphology and microstructures of electrodeposited were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Spectrometry X-Ray Diffraction. The effect of glycerol on Ni-Mo hardness was evaluated by Vickers microhardness measurements. The presence of glycerol in the electrodeposition bath increased the grain size and decreased the hardness of the coating. However, it promoted the formation of a more compact and less porous coating, increasing the corrosion resistance of the coating. Moreover, the addition of 0.82 mol.L^-1 glycerol increases current efficiency, thereby reducing the amount of energy consumed during electroplating.

Keywords:
Corrosion; glycerol; electroplating; Nickel; Molybdenum