ZrO₂–CeO₂ assimilated electroless Ni–P anti-corrosion coatings

ZrO₂–CeO₂ nanocomposites are well known for their superior mechanical, thermal and tribological properties. On the other hand, Ni–P electroless coatings are in widespread industrial usage. In this work, we attempted to assimilate the lab-made ZrO₂–CeO₂ nanocomposite into Ni–P electroless coating to achieve synergistic property enhancement through composition optimization. Several techniques thoroughly characterized both the as-prepared nanocomposite powder and the Ni–P–ZrO₂–CeO₂ composite coating. The results proved that the nanocomposite assimilation refined coating surface morphology and boosted mechanical, tribological and corrosion resistance properties. Post-high-temperature annealing at 350 °C, significantly improved the coating performance, which was attributed to the annealing induced morphology refinement and crystallization.