**2.1. Turbiscan lab expert stability analyses**

The obtention of the Ni-P-SiC coatings require the stable dispersion of the SiC particles in the electrolytic bath. An efficient and widely employed method to achieve the effective dispersion of the particles is through the modification of the particle surfaces via the adsorption of a watersoluble polymer [19,20]. The high stability of the suspensions using this methodology is mainly related to electrostatic and steric mechanisms.

The adsorption of cationic surfactant molecules around the SiC particles causes a net positive charge on its surface as a result of increased electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance between SiCPs. This phenomenon facilitates the migration of the particles toward the surface of the cathode, where they are dispersed during the formation of the Ni-P/SiC coating.

The effect of the surfactant concentration on the stability of SiCPs in an electrolytic bath was studied throughout the next procedure: 0.0625 g of SiC particles (99.9%, 100 nm, SkySpring Nanomaterials, Inc.) was added to 25 mL of a base solution containing 0.2 M NaCl + 0.65 M NiSO4⋅6H2O + 0.75 M NiCl2 6H2O + 0.1 M H3BO3 + 0.1 M H3PO3 + *x* mM decyltrimethylam‐ monium bromide (DTAB) (98%, Spectrum Labs, USA) (*x* = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 1.00).

The stability of the SiCPs suspended in solution was measured using the methodology describes by Trejo et al. [21]. The typical transmission and backscattering profiles of SiCPs in the electrolytic bath without surfactant CTAB are shown in Figure 1.
