Synthesis and Characterization of Novel NiW–CeO2 Composite Coating with Enhanced Corrosion and Wear Resistance
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Title: Synthesis and characterization of novel NiW-CeO2 composite coating with enhanced corrosion and wear resistance
Authors: Mina Dadvand, Oumarou Savadogo
General Comments:
o In this paper, NiW composite coatings filled with CeO2 ceramic particles were electrodeposited on brass substrates using direct current (DC) and a well-designed pulse reverse current waveforms (PRC). The as-obtained composites material are analyzed and their corrosion properties are discussed function of the preparation conditions.
o The structure of the article fulfills the structure of a research article.
o Six keywords are included by the authors.
- The Introduction section provide sufficient background information for readers in the immediate field to understand the problem that this study addresses.
o The authors present in the Materials and Methods section shortly the reagents, the experimental method and the equipment used.
o In the Results section, the authors present and interpret the results of the performed experiments.
o The paper ends with the Conclusions part. In this section the authors mention the conclusions of their research study.
I suggest to Reconsider after Major Revisions for the following reasons:
1. the article is written in different fonts. please check the whole text carefully;
2. figures 2-11 are blurry and the technical text on the SEM/EDS cannot be read – please increase the figures resolution;
3. please delete the extra spaces such as: page 2, line 71; page 5, line 141; page 7, line 200; page 12, line 279;
4. the authors should provide EDS/SEM data for the samples after exposure to the sea salt solution;
5. the authors should explain why the thermal treatment is important and how this treatment influence the corrosions properties. If the crystallite size influence the corrosion resistance of the samples, it should be demonstrated in the paper;
6. page 3, line 99: Fig. 2 should be replaced by Fig. 1;
7. page 5, line 158: “materials” is not spelled correctly;
8. page 14, line 340: F.C.C. – please delete the “.”
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your comments. It helped us to greatly improve the manuscript.
Comment 1:
The article is written in different fonts. Please check the whole text carefully
Answer: The suggestion was employed throughout the entire text
Comment 2:
Figures 2-11 are blurry and the technical text on the SEM/EDS cannot be read – please increase the figures resolution;
Answer: The Figures were replaced with higher resolution images and the clarity of the fonts and micron bars in SEM Figures were improved.
Comment 3:
Please delete the extra spaces such as: page 2, line 71; page 5, line 141; page 7, line 200; page 12, line 279;
Answer: The extra spaces were deleted
Comment 4:
The authors should provide EDS/SEM data for the samples after exposure to the sea salt solution;
Answer: The SEM/EDS images were added after exposure to the sea salt solution
Comment 5:
The authors should explain why the thermal treatment is important and how this treatment influence the corrosions properties. If the crystallite size influence the corrosion resistance of the samples, it should be demonstrated in the paper;
Answer: The importance of heat treatment and influence of crystallite size on corrosion resistance was explained on page 23 (red font) and relative references were added.
Comment 6:
Page 3, line 99: Fig. 2 should be replaced by Fig. 1
Answer: The comment was employed.
Comment 7:
Page 5, line 158: “materials” is not spelled correctly
Answer: The comment was employed.
Comment 8:
Page 14, line 340: F.C.C. – please delete the “.”
Answer: The comment was employed.
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear authors
This is an interesting research related to preparation of the NiW-CeO2 composite for enhancement of corrosion and wear resistance. Although the concept of this reseach is of great interest, its design and organization are not good. Some figures were poor and not clear. Furthermore, several characterizations were also missed. Therefore, this research must be improved upon the following issuses before published in the Journal.
1. Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be intergrated in a higher quality of schematic illustration.
2. Similarly, the quality of Figure 4, 9, 10 is very poor. Please provide a higher resolution of Figures. The reader cannot read the number and scale in Figure 9, 10. Moreover, don't use the number of X in 1.E-00.
3. SEM images are not clear. I cannot see any particles like CeO2. To conclude the successful coating NiW on CeO2 particles, higher resolution of SEMs should be provided. Moreover, FTIR spectra is also necesary
4. The comparison of enhanced corrosion and wear resistance between the NiW-CeO2 composite and other materials should be conducted
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your comments. It helped us to greatly improve the manuscript.
Comment 1:
Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be integrated in a higher quality of schematic illustration.
Answer: The figures 1 and 2 were integrated with higher quality.
Comment 2:
Similarly, the quality of Figure 4, 9, 10 is very poor. Please provide a higher resolution of Figures. The reader cannot read the number and scale in Figure 9, 10. Moreover, don't use the number of X in 1.E-00.
Answer: The comment was employed and Figures with higher quality were added.
Comment 3:
SEM images are not clear. I cannot see any particles like CeO2. To conclude the successful coating NiW on CeO2 particles, higher resolution of SEMs should be provided. Moreover, FTIR spectra is also necessary.
Answer: SEM images with higher resolution were added.
The FTIR results were taken, however since the samples were not thick enough, the peaks were not observed. There should be a full contact between the samples and stage to be able to observe any peaks. We are working on fabrication of coatings on thicker substrates for upcoming articles.
Comment 4:
The comparison of enhanced corrosion and wear resistance between the NiW-CeO2 composite and other materials should be conducted.
Answer: wear and corrosion performance of DC and PRC deposited NiW-CeO2 composite coatings were evaluated and compared to reference coatings such as DC and PRC deposited Ni and NiW. It might be not a good comparison between NiW-CeO2 and other composite materials in the literature since they are deposited from different electrodeposition baths with different chemistry and under different experimental conditions such as pH, temperature, and current density.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors corrected the manuscript according to the reviewer requirements. The paper can be published in present form.
Reviewer 2 Report
I can be published in the current version
