Effect of La2O3 on microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of Ni-W coatings

In this paper, a Ni-W-La2O3 composite coating was prepared by the electrodeposition method. Microhardness tester and environmental scanning electron microscope equipped energy dispersive spectroscopy were employed to investigate the microhardness and the surface morphology of the composite coatings respectively, and the high temperature friction behavior and corrosion resistance of the coatings against molten glass were investigated by using a high temperature tribometer. The results show that La2O3 can refine the microstructure effectively, and make the element distribution uniform, which leads to the increase of average microhardness. La2O3 particulates can reduce the friction coefficient between the composite coating and glass during the sliding process at about 973 K largely, and the corrosion resistance of the La2O3 added Ni-W coatings is effectively improved compared with that of the non-added one, furthermore the mechanism of friction-reducing and anti-corrosion is also discussed.