Paper Title
Synthesis of Graphene Oxide (Go) and its Application in Ni-P-Go Composite coating

Abstract
Graphene is a hot area of research because of its unique and remarkable properties. These properties attract researchers to use this form of carbon in various potential applications. One of its applications is in Ni-P-GO composite coatings. Ni-P-GO composite coatings were prepared on mild steel through an electro-less nickel bath with graphene oxide (GO) prepared by modified Hummer’s method. The synthesized GO was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Raman spectroscopy to investigate the morphological and physicochemical changes occurred in exfoliated graphite. The structure, surface morphology, and elemental composition of coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface roughness of the Ni-P-GO composite plating is Ra 10.8 nm which is lesser than Ni-P plating. Micro-hardness of Ni-P and Ni–P–GO composite coatings was measured from Vickers micro-hardness tester. The composite coatings (425 HV) had the higher hardness than the Ni-P coatings (402 HV). The increase in the micro-hardness of the composite coatings was due to the effect of plastic deformation generated by the GO particles. Corrosion resistance of composite coating was measured using polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. Corrosion tests showed that addition of graphene oxide particles improved corrosion resistance of electro less Ni-P composite coatings in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution. Keywords - Graphene oxide (GO), Electroless, Nickel-phosphorus, Composite coatings