Study on Anti-fouling and Anti-corrosion Properties of Electrodeposited Nickel/Graphene Oxide Composite Coatings

Corrosion and biofouling are prevalent service-induced damage problems for metallic materials in marine environments, leading to diminished metal strength and localized failure. The electrodeposition technique was used to fabricate a nickel/graphene oxide (GO) composite coating on the surface of AH32 steel. Orthogonal experiments were conducted to analyze the influence of GO content, rotation speed of plating solution, and current density on the hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance of the coating. The results indicate that as the concentration of GO in the electroplating solution increases, the GO content in the coating also increases; at lower rotation speeds of the plating solution, the GO content in the coating tends to be higher; higher current density results in coarser coating particles. GO concentration has the most significant impact on the hydrophobicity, with the increase of GO concentration, the hydrophobicity of the coating is improved. GO content, rotation speed of plating solution, and current density all significantly affect the corrosion resistance, higher GO content, lower rotation speed of plating solution and smaller current density can improve the corrosion resistance of the coating.