ELECTRODEPOSITION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE NI-FE ALLOYS

Thick nanocrystalline Ni and Ni-Fe alloy deposits with grain sizes less than 30 nm and containing iron up to 28 wt. % were produced by electrodeposition at rates in excess of 100 mu m per hour. It is shown that the grain size, macrotexture and microtexture of these materials is strongly dependent on the amount of iron co-deposited with nickel. With decreasing grain size, the hardness of the materials initially increases following the regular Hall-Perch relationship. However, starting at grain sizes of approximately 18 nm, a deviation from the regular Hall-Perch behavior is observed leading to softening at the smallest grain sizes.