Comprehensive behavior of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) reinforced plasma sprayed nanostructured WC–Co coatings

The effects of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as an additive on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and tribological behavior of air plasma sprayed (APS) nanostructured tungsten carbide–cobalt (WC-25 wt.%Co) coatings were studied. The rGO was added in three distinct weight percentage proportions of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt.%. The microhardness and surface roughness of the APS sprayed nanostructured WC-25 wt.%Co coatings reinforced with rGO were changed significantly. Microstructural alterations in the coatings were also noticed with the addition of additives. Gluing of rGO amid coating splats was also seen in the microstructure of the coatings. The coatings' microstructure revealed the presence of tungsten (W), tungsten carbide (WC), and semi-tungsten carbide (W2C) as the primary phases. The existence of the W2C phase in the microstructure of the coatings was mostly due to the decarbonization of WC at higher temperatures during plasma spraying. It was also found that the amount of wear of the coatings was exceptionally low because the rGO could not be extracted from the 1.5 wt.% rGO-reinforced coatings particularly. The wear degradation in the 0.5 and 1.0 wt.% rGO added coatings was mostly due to delimitation and the subsequent pulverization, notably at loads and sliding speeds of 1.5 kgf and 0.17 m/s.