Fabrication of Nanocrystalline Cu-Sn Coating by Pulsed Current Electrodeposition

Bronze based composites, consisted of self lubricant particles like MoS2, Graphite, PTFE, etc, are extensively used in various bearing applications. During recent decades, many investigations have concentrated on developing of electrodeposited coatings due to the fact that it makes possible to obtain desired surface properties through a significantly low cost process. These researches focused on the electroplating parameters that resulted in higher concentration of self lubricant particles and more uniform distribution of particles that finally result in a low coefficient of friction [1].One of the methods that can alter the composition and microstructure of the electrodeposited layer is pulse electroplating. When properly employed, this technique can alter the concentration profile along the metal/solution interface which would change the composition of the layer and the nucleation and growth mechanism of electrocrystallization which would result in an ultra fine structure.Despite the recent developments, to the authors` knowledge, there is no investigation that considers the effects of pulse plating technique on microstructure and composition of bronze-based coatings. So the aim of this research is to investigate the effect of pulse electroplating conditions on the microstructure and composition of bronze coating in order to optimize the matrix properties of bronze-graphite composites.