Enhancement of wear and corrosion resistance of iron-based hard coatings deposited by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying

• Fe-based alloy powder is coated with Co to improve corrosion and wear resistance.
• Co coating is conducted using high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying.
• Adding Co coating can prevent growth of coarse grain and intermetallic crystal.
• The precipitation particles with 80–200 nm embedded in the coatings are obtained.

Fe-based alloy material is widely used in the corrosive environment of seawater. It is replacing expensive cobalt and nickel-based alloys. Amorphous iron-based (Fe-based) alloy coatings can be deposited on stainless steel by high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying. Following spraying, coatings were heat-treated at 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 °C for up to three hours in a vacuum furnace. The microstructures of such coatings were analyzed herein using an optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to monitor the morphologies of both powders and coatings of Fe-based alloy. Phase analysis was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The goal of this work on the modification of Fe-based alloy feedstock powder is to enhance the corrosion and wear properties of these coatings. The results of this investigation reveal that adding a cobalt material to Fe-based alloy yields coatings with enhanced corrosion and tribological characteristics.