Tribocorrosion Performance of WC-12Co HVOF-Sprayed Coatings Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

WC-12Co HVOF-sprayed coatings (~400 µm in thickness) reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), were deposited on a steel substrate. The aim of this work is to provide and analyze data from HVOF WC-12Co sprayed coatings, concerning the influence of the addition of MWCNTs on their tribocorrosion performance, in a 3.5% NaCl electrolyte. Electrochemical data (current density and corrosion potential from potentiodynamic polarization curves) and wear data (coefficients of friction, coating volume losses and wear constants) are reported for the coatings, with and without the addition of MWCNTs (labeled WCCNT and WCAS-RECEIVED, respectively), considering the synergistic effects of wear and corrosion coupling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry are used to explain both the wear and corrosion mechanisms that account for each coating’s performance in this environment. During the tribocorrosion tests, similar wear constants, of the order of approximately 10−12 m3/Nm, were found for all samples, with an increase of ~20% due to the MWCNTs presence. However, for the coatings reinforced with MWCNTs, a remarkable increase in icorr, representing almost 3 times the icorr of the WCAS-RECEIVED coating, was determined. The above results illustrate the complex mechanisms that occur when these coatings are tested under tribocorrosion conditions, which give rise to concurrent interacting phenomena, involving both electrochemical and mechanical responses.