Tribological behavior of nanostructured WC particles/polymer coatings

Tribological and corrosion behaviors of nanostructured tungsten carbide (WC) particles/polymer composite coatings were studied by using microscratch technology and electrochemical technique. The coatings containing nanostructured WC particles showed a significant increase in hardness and scratch resistance compared to that of pure polymer coating. The improvement in hardness and scratch resistance is attributed to the dispersion hardening of nanostructured WC particles in polymer coatings. Corrosion test results showed that the nanostructured WC particles/polymer composite coatings exhibit better or at least equivalent corrosion resistance to that of the pure polymer coating.