Preparation of a thick NiAl/Al2O3 coating by embedding method and its corrosion resistance under supercritical water environment

One of the critical issues in the application of supercritical water oxidation technology is to improve the corrosion resistance of reactor materials. Use of Al2O3 coating is one of the most promising methods to address this issue. In this study, thick NiAl/Al2O3 coatings on Inconel 625 substrates were prepared by a consecutive pack embedding and in-situ thermal oxidation process. The effect of aluminizing and oxidation temperature on phase structure and coating thickness is studied. Results show the diffusion of Al from the exterior to the interior of the alloy matrix to form intermetallic compounds between Al and metal elements in the matrix (Ni, Cr, Mo, etc.). Moreover, the coating thickness can reach above 300 μm at the aluminizing temperature of 950 °C. Increasing the aluminizing temperature above 950 °C will not increase the coating thickness further. After high temperature oxidation subsequently, only phases of NiAl and Al2O3 were detected. The formation of Al2O3 layer can be ascribed to the surface oxidization of Al. And the NiAl between the alloy substrate and Al2O3 coating provides an interfacial layer that can alleviate the crack or exfoliation of ceramic coating due to the mismatching of thermal expand coefficient. The thick NiAl/Al2O3 coatings prepared by aluminizing 950 °C and oxidizing at 1100 °C exhibit satisfied corrosion resistance after supercritical water test. This work would provide a significant method to develop advanced ceramics coating for the corrosion resistance of alloys.