Corrosion behaviour of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni–W and Ni–Fe–W alloys

The present work deals with evaluation of corrosion behaviour of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni–W and Ni–Fe–W alloys. Corrosion behaviour of the coatings deposited on steel substrates was studied using polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques in 3.5% NaCl solution while their passivation behaviour was studied in 1N sulphuric acid solution. The corrosion resistance of Ni–W alloys increased with tungsten content up to 7.54 at.% and then decreased. In case of Ni–Fe–W alloys it increased with tungsten content up to 9.20 at.% and then decreased. The ternary alloy coatings exhibited poor corrosion resistance compared to binary alloy coatings due to preferential dissolution of iron from the matrix. Regardless of composition all the alloys exhibited passivation behaviour over a wide range of potentials due to the formation of tungsten rich film on the surface.