R. Rajendran

Optimization of Electroless Ni-P-Nano-TiO2 Coating Parameters Using Taguchi Method for Corrosion Performance

This article considers an experimental study of Taguchi’s parameters design to maximize the corrosion resistance of electroless Ni-P-nano-TiO2 on low carbon steel substrate. The experiments were carried out based on Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array considering four coating parameters of three levels each namely, Bath Temperature, pH of bath, Bath Loading, and concentration of TiO2. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) facilitated the study of the surface morphology and the chemical composition of the coatings. Corrosion performance of the deposits was evaluated by Tafel polarization technique in 3.5 wt. % of NaCl solution. The observation shows that pH level has more significant influence on the corrosion behavior of the composite deposit. The experimental study revealed that the optimum conditions are A3B3C2D1 (Temperature of 88° C, pH of 6, bath loading of 0.5 dm2/l, and TiO2 concentration of 2 g/l).