Effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the co-deposition and frictional behavior of carbon nanotube/nickel composite layer

In this paper, the effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentrations in the electroplating solution on the morphology, nucleation rate, nucleation mode, and frictional behavior of the CNT/Ni composite layers were investigated. The results showed that the electrodeposition of Ni was in a three-dimensional nucleation/growth mode. In addition, the x-ray diffraction (XRD) of the deposited layers showed that adding SDS changed the preferred growth direction of Ni from (2 0 0) to the (2 2 0) crystallographic plane. When the carbon nanotube (CNT) content was 0.1 g l−1, and the SDS content was 0.05 g l−1, the deposition potential was the most negative, increasing the number of Ni nucleation sites on the electrode and resulting in the grain size refinement of the deposited layer. It also reduced the friction coefficient of the composite simultaneously.