The effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium saccharin on morphology, hardness and wear behavior of Cr–WC nano composite coatings

The effects of sodium saccharin and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) additives on the amount of incorporated tungsten carbide (WC) particles and morphology of the coatings are investigated. The structure and morphology of the coatings are determined by scanning electron microscopy techniques (SEM). The hardness and tribological behavior of the coatings are studied by micro hardness and pin on disk methods. The experimental results show that with the addition of sodium saccharin and SDS the amount of WC particles in the coating decreases and the size of WC agglomerates reduces. The average size of WC particles is 70 nm. On the other hand the wear resistances of the coatings increase and the optimum wear resistance is 1 g/L.