{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:10:46Z","timestamp":1760058646671,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,22]],"date-time":"2025-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745280000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Aluminum\/steel bimetal combines the advantages of aluminum alloy and steel, greatly leveraging the value of various industrial fields, especially in improving engine performance and fuel economy. However, it is very difficult to prepare products with good interface bonding strength. The fundamental issue stems from the presence of an excessively thick interface layer and brittle intermetallic compounds. Therefore, this study employed a 50 \u03bcm-thick Ni interlayer to control the interface layer thickness, thereby enhancing the Al\/steel interfacial bonding strength. A systematic investigation was conducted on the effects of hot dip duration on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Al\/steel bimetal. The influence of hot dip duration on the microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum\/steel bimetal interface was systematically studied. The results show that the 50 \u03bcm Ni intermediate layer was used to effectively control the transition layer thickness and improve the interfacial bonding strength of aluminum steel. The thickness of the interface layer gradually increases with the increase in the hot-immersion time. The thickness of the interface layer composed of the two phases of \u03c41-Al2Fe3Si3 and FeAl3 on the steel side increases first and then decreases, while the interface layer composed of the two phases of \u03c45-Al8Fe2Si and Fe2Al5 on the aluminum side decreases first and then increases. When the hot dip time is 240 s, the shear strength of Al\/steel bimetal with 50 \u03bcm Ni interlayer showed 75% enhancement compared to Ni-free counterparts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18091898","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,22]],"date-time":"2025-04-22T20:11:48Z","timestamp":1745352708000},"page":"1898","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Study on the Influence of Nickel Plating on the Structure and Properties of Aluminum\/Steel Bimetallic Bonding"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Yufei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials and Environment, Shanxi Jinzhong Institute of Technology, Jinzhong 030600, China"},{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guowei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mingjie","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing, Huanghuai University, Zhumadian 463000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1016\/S1003-6326(18)64914-3","article-title":"Microstructures and mechanical properties of AZ91D\/0Cr19Ni9 bimetal composite prepared by liquid-solid compound casting","volume":"29","author":"Zhao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trans. 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