In this study, FeCrMnWMoSi amorphous/nanocrystalline coating was prepared on stainless steel by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying. In order to thoroughly evaluate this novel material, the corrosion behaviors and corrosive film characteristics of the amorphous/nanocrystalline coating in NaCl corrosive media were studied using electrochemical measurement technologies such as potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was found that the corrosion resistance of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline coating could be attributed to the passive film formed, which consisted of Fe, Cr, Mo, and W oxides. pH has an important influence on the corrosion resistance of amorphous/nanocrystalline coating by changing the pitting corrosion mechanism. Under neutral and acidic conditions, the corrosion mechanism of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline coating was mainly local pitting corrosion. However, under strong alkaline conditions, the amorphous/nanocrystalline coating not only had pitting corrosion, but also had the active dissolution of the passive film. Therefore, the anti-corrosion performance of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline coating under alkaline conditions was not as good as neutral and acidic corrosive medium.

There is an urgent need to improve the corrosion resistance of WC-based cermet coatings in different corrosive environments. The main objective of this work was to investigate the microstructure and evaluate the corrosion resistance in neutral, acidic, and alkaline electrolytes of the WC-based cermet/Fe-based amorphous alloy composite coating. Thus, a composite coating of WC–CoCr/Fe-based amorphous alloy and a single WC–CoCr coating were fabricated using the high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) process. The phase composition, microstructure of the original powders, and as-sprayed coatings were studied. The detailed interface information between different compositions of the composite coating was observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The corrosion resistance of the coatings was studied comparatively by electrochemical tests in 3.5 wt % NaCl, 1 M HCl and 1 M NaOH solutions, respectively. Results showed that the composited coating had a dense layered structure with a composition of WC, Fe-based amorphous alloy, and small amount of W₂C. It was revealed that obvious inter-diffusion exists between the interfaces of tungsten carbide/Co, Cr binder and WC–CoCr/Fe-based amorphous alloy. The electrochemical test results showed that the composite coating displayed better corrosion resistance than single WC–CoCr coating both in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution and in 1 M NaOH solution.

Mn-Co Spinel is considered as one of the most promising materials for the interconnect protection of solid oxide fuel cells; however, its conductivity is too low to maintain a high cell performance as compared with cathode materials. Element doping is an effective method to improve the spinel conductivity. In this work, we proposed doping Mn-Co spinel powder with Cu via a solid phase reaction. Cu_δMn_1.5−xCo_1.5−yO₄ with δ = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and x + y = δ was obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) were used to evaluate the Cu-doping effect. After sintering at 1000 °C for 12 h, the yield exhibited the best crystallinity, density, and element distribution, with a phase composition of MnCo₂O₄/Cu_xMn_3−xO₄ (x = 1, 1.2, 1.4 or 1.5). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to semi-quantitatively characterize the content changes in element valence states. The areal fraction of Mn²⁺ and Co³⁺ was found to decrease when the sintering duration increased, which was attributed to the decomposition of the MnCo₂O₄ phase. Finally, coatings were prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying with doped spinel powders and the raw powder Mn_1.5Co_1.5O₄. It was found that Cu doping can effectively increase the conductivity of Mn-Co spinel coatings from 23 S/cm to 51 S/cm. Although the dopant Cu was found to be enriched on the surface of the coatings after the conductivity measurement, which restrained the doping effect, Cu doping remains a convenient method to significantly promote the conductivity of spinel coatings for SOFC applications.

Photocatalytic coatings can degrade volatile organic compounds into non-toxic products, which has drawn the attention of scholars around the world. However, the pollution of dust on the coating adversely affects the photocatalytic efficiency and service life of the coating. Here, a series of TiO₂-polyfluoroalkoxy (PFA) coatings with different contents of PFA were fabricated by suspension plasma spraying technology. The results demonstrate that the hybrid coatings contain a large number of circular and ellipsoidal nanoparticles and a porous micron-nano structure due to the inclusion of PFA. According to the optimized thermal spraying process parameters, TiO₂ nanoparticles were partially melted to retain most of the anatase phases, whereas PFA did not undergo significant carbonization. As compared to the TiO₂ coating, the static contact angle of the composite coating doped with 25 wt.% PFA increased from 28.2° to 134.1°. In addition, PFA strongly adsorbs methylene blue, resulting in a greater involvement of methylene blue molecules in the catalyst, where the catalytic rate of hybrid coatings is up to 95%. The presented nanocomposite coatings possess excellent photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties and are expected to find wider practical applications in the field of photocatalysis.