× 11 which present surface microcracks.  The surface morphology of Cr coating is characterized by dendrite microstructure (Figure 5a) while the cross-section micrograph reveals a homogeneous and compact coating without microcracks (Figure 5b). It is well known that a crack-free or a cracked morphology of electrodeposited Cr coating can be obtained by proper adjustment of the plating condition24 and the morphologies shown in these micrographs are typical of electrodeposited Cr coatings obtained under this operational condition. The influence of the annealing temperature in the surface and cross-section morphology of the selected Ni66Cr12P22 coatings is presented in Figure 6. These SEM images show that the number of surfaces nodules is decreasing with the temperature and they are absent on the surface of the sample heat treated at 600 °C. Additionally