Comparative study of the corrosion resistance of thermally sprayed ceramic coatings and their bulk ceramic counterparts

A comparative study of the corrosion properties of thermally sprayed ceramic coatings (Al2O3, Al2O3–TiO2 with different ratios, mullite, and ZrSiO4) and their sintered bulk ceramic counterparts was performed. The coatings were deposited on corrosion-resistant steel substrates using atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) and high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying processes. The corrosion properties were investigated in 1 N solutions of NaOH and H2SO4 at 85 °C, respectively. The coating microstructures and phase compositions, as well as the corrosive environment were shown to have a strong effect on the corrosion resistance of the coatings. Al2O3–coatings were more sensitive to these factors than Al2O3–TiO2 coatings were.The corrosion resistance of the bulk ceramics was superior to that of the thermally sprayed coatings. This is mainly because the coatings exhibited specific microstructure and contained amorphous and/or metastable phases not appearing in the bulk ceramics.