Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of Ni–TiO₂ Composite Coatings Electrodeposited from a Deep Eutectic Solvent-Based Electrolyte

The need to develop new electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices requires the creation of new, available, low-cost and high-performance electrocatalytic materials, which can be produced as coatings by electrodeposition technique. The electrodeposited composite coatings based on nickel seem to be very promising in this context. We studied the corrosion resistance of electrocatalytic Ni–TiO₂ composite coatings fabricated by electrodeposition method using a plating solution based on deep eutectic solvents, a new environmentally friendly and affordable type of room-temperature ionic liquids. We investigated the corrosion behavior of Ni and Ni–TiO₂ coatings (5 and 10 wt.% of TiO₂) in a 3% NaCl aqueous solution as a corrosive medium. The corrosion parameters were determined by linear voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was established that the inclusion of titania particles in the Ni matrix and an increase in their content in the coating leads to a shift in corrosion potential towards positive values, a decrease in corrosion current density and an increase in polarization resistance. The observed effects of improving the corrosion resistance of coatings are associated with the barrier action of particles of the dispersed phase and the formation of corrosion microcells contributing to the inhibition of local corrosion.