Effect of Sealing Treatment on Corrosion Resistance of Plasma-Sprayed NiCrAl/Cr2O3-8 wt.%TiO2 Coating

Plasma-sprayed ceramic coatings inherently contain pores and micro-cracks which is deleterious when performed in aggressive environment. Various methods were applied to the as-sprayed coatings in order to improve the corrosion resistance. In the investigation of this study, plasma-sprayed NiCrAl/Cr2O3-8 wt.%TiO2 coatings were sealed by epoxy resin and silicone resin, respectively. Coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), optical microscopy (OM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The possible corrosion mechanism was discussed. The results of salt spray test and electrochemical measurements indicated that after the sealing treatment, the porosity of coatings decreased obviously and a compact layer was formed to protect the coating from corrosion. The silicone resin proved to be more effective than epoxy resin in enhancing the corrosion resistance of the coatings used in this research.