Influence of nano-alumina on curing kinetics and corrosion resistance of alumina based ceramic coatings

With thermal chemical reaction, the nano-alumina ceramic coatings were prepared on A3 steel. Influence of nano-alumina on curing kinetics was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that all samples show the outstanding heat resistance. However the temperature and the enthalpy of curing decreased with the increase in a nano-alumina content. A model was established to explain the decrease. The physical combination and the decrease in activation energy are the major reason for the decrease. Also electrochemical tests were conducted to investigate the corrosion behavior of the nano-alumina coatings. Corrosion current densities (i corr) decreased with the increase in the nano-alumina content. This indicated that nano-alumina improved the corrosion resistance of the ceramic coatings. Because the uniformity of ceramic coatings is improved due to the fact that nano-alumina particles fill the pores and spaces of coatings, and nano-alumina particles provide the high physical combination between particles.