A Comprehensive Investigation on the Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) of Nano-Al/Ni Energetic Composite Coatings for the Combustion Application

In this study, the nano-Al/Ni energetic composite coatings (ANECCs) have been successfully fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method at the room temperature and normal pressure. Isopropyl alcohol is demonstrated to act as the suitable dispersion agent for the EPD. The SEM and EDS results show that the obtained ANECCs are relatively smooth and evenly distributed. Both the phase constitution and exothermic behavior of the ANECCs are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis at the same while. In addition, the kinetics of the nanoparticles during the EPD process are investigated in detail. The exothermic performance of products studies show that the ANECCs prepared by EPD exhibit the great combustion performance and thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, the combustion processes of samples are recorded and analyzed by the high-speed photography. This work demonstrates that EPD method is a facile and effective approach in the preparation of Al/Ni energetic coatings with the widespread application.