Degradation by wear, apart to corrosion, is one of the main industrial phenomena, which significantly influence on aging the metallic materials. The corrosion process of metallic substrates generates huge losses (near 3-4% GDP [1]), while wear may only worsen this problem [2]. Metallic materials are widely used in industry. However, their excellent mechanical properties are often insufficient, taking into account the set of factors that simultaneously affect the product, e.g. corrosive environment and friction. In order to increasing protection of metallic substrates, surface treatments like coating deposition are used [3]. The sol-gel method as one of such a treatment give possibilities to obtain modified surfaces which are the environmentally friendly and harmless for human materials [1,4]. The sol-gel coatings materials improve the corrosion protection and significantly decrease the wear rate [2,4].

In demanding industrial environments where metallic materials operate, the key issue is to look for the influence of the synthesis parameters on the final properties and long-term stability of coating materials. The definition of other coatings parameters are also important, such as wettability, morphology of coatings, coatings adhesion, and finally changes in profilometry after coating.

In this work the sol-gel coatings based on zirconia and silica modified by organic parts such as fluorocarbon or epoxy moieties were present. Obtained silica coatings copied the topography of substrate, create thin films and showed protection properties even after 3 years aging. Coatings were deposited on low-carbon steel (P265GH) and tested in corrosion and tribocorrosion environment. The SEM with EDX and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterized morphology and chemical composition of coatings. The wettability and roughness measurement were conducted to determine the chemical and electrostatic properties changes in time under the action the degradative environment, development the specific surface area and influence roughness on degradation, respectively.

References

[1] R.B. Figueira, Polymers (Basel), 2020, 12, 689.

[2] L. Sopchenski, J. Robert, M. Touzin, A. Tricoteaux, M.G. Olivier, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2021, 417, 127195.

[3] B. Tlili, A. Barkaoui, M. Walick, Tribol. Int., 2016, 120, 348-354.

[4] J. Krzak, A. Szczurek, B. Babiarczuk, J. Gąsiorek, B. Borak, in: Handb. Nanomater. Manuf. Appl. (Elsevier), 2020, 111-147.