Fabrication and Characterization of Thermal-Sprayed Fe-Based Amorphous/Nanocrystalline Composite Coatings: An Overview

This review focuses on the recent development of iron (Fe)-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coatings, which have attracted much attention due to their attractive combination of high hardness/strength, elevated abrasive wear resistance, and enhanced corrosion resistance. Accompanying the advancements in various thermal spray technologies, industrial application fields of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coatings are becoming more diverse. In the main part, the typical empirical rules for the design of amorphous alloys with high glass-forming ability are generalized and discussed at first. Then various thermal spray technologies for the fabrication of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coatings, such as high velocity oxygen/air spray (HVOF/HVAF), air plasma spray (APS), low-pressure plasma spray (LPPS), high-energy plasma spray (HPS), and high velocity arc spray (HVAS) processes, are introduced. The microstructures, hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coatings formed using these thermal spray technologies are reviewed and compared. Finally, the existing challenges and future prospects are proposed.