Advanced Surface Engineering of Alloys: Coatings and Thin Films

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Corrosion, Wear and Erosion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 312

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China
Interests: surface strengthening; physical vapor deposition; equal channel angular pressing; cross-wedge rolling; aluminum alloy

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
Interests: coatings; crack formation; cross-wedge rolling; titanium alloy; boundary element
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the continuous advancement of modern industry, the demand for enhanced performance in metal materials has intensified, positioning alloy surface engineering as a pivotal strategy for augmenting material service capabilities. Coatings and thin films serve as effective surface modification techniques that, while preserving the inherent properties of the substrate, markedly improve materials' resistance to corrosion, wear, and high-temperature oxidation. These enhancements have led to significant engineering applications across critical sectors such as aerospace, energy equipment, and transportation.​

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to our Special Issue, "Advanced Surface Engineering of Alloys: Coatings and Thin Films", which aims to consolidate the latest research in alloy surface engineering, focusing on coatings and thin film technologies.

This Special Issue aligns with the scope of the Coatings journal, which is devoted to the science and engineering of coatings, thin and thick films, surfaces, and interfaces.

Our objective is to curate a collection of at least 10 high-quality articles, encompassing original research papers and comprehensive reviews, to provide a comprehensive overview of current advancements in this field. Achieving this goal may lead to the publication of this Special Issue in a book format, offering a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners in materials science.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate the latest research advancements in coating and thin film technologies within the realm of alloy surface engineering. It will focus on elucidating the mechanisms of wear, corrosion, and biocompatibility of coatings by different deposition processes. Furthermore, it will also explore various modification strategies designed to enhance coating–substrate adhesion and properties.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Innovative coating and thin film materials: design, synthesis, and characterization of novel coatings and thin films aimed at enhancing alloy surface properties.​
  • Advanced deposition techniques: exploration and optimization of deposition methods such as physical and chemical vapor deposition, laser cladding, and thermal spraying tailored to different alloy substrates.​
  • Interfacial bonding mechanisms: investigation into the bonding mechanisms between coatings and substrates and their impact on overall material performance.​
  • Performance under extreme conditions: evaluation of coated alloys' behavior under extreme environments, including high temperatures, corrosive atmospheres, and high wear conditions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Tao He
Prof. Dr. Xuedao Shu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • alloy surface engineering
  • coatings and thin films
  • surface modification techniques
  • corrosion resistance
  • wear resistance
  • oxidation resistance
  • deposition techniques
  • interfacial bonding strength
  • biocompatibility

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2285 KiB  
Article
Effect of Buffer Layer Type on the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of Magnetron Sputtered Cr Coatings on 7050 Al Alloy
by Yang Ding, Tao He, Xiangyang Du, Alexey Vereschaka, Catherine Sotova, Kang Chen, Jian Li, Yuqi Wang and Peiyu He
Coatings 2025, 15(7), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15070803 - 9 Jul 2025
Viewed by 222
Abstract
Limited hardness and corrosion resistance restrict 7050 aluminum alloys in aggressive environments. Cr coatings, applied as single layers or over Ti, Al, or Ni buffer layers, were deposited onto 7050 aluminum alloy by direct-current magnetron sputtering; their microstructure, adhesion, mechanical properties, and corrosion [...] Read more.
Limited hardness and corrosion resistance restrict 7050 aluminum alloys in aggressive environments. Cr coatings, applied as single layers or over Ti, Al, or Ni buffer layers, were deposited onto 7050 aluminum alloy by direct-current magnetron sputtering; their microstructure, adhesion, mechanical properties, and corrosion behavior were examined. The results indicate that introducing a buffer layer significantly enhances the bonding strength between a Cr coating and an aluminum alloy substrate, with the Ni buffer layer exhibiting the highest bonding strength, nearly three times that of the Cr coating alone. Furthermore, the buffer layer influences the mechanical properties of the Cr coatings, with Ni/Cr and Al/Cr coatings demonstrating increased hardness and elastic modulus. The Ni/Cr coating achieved the highest values of 3.95 GPa and 62.09 GPa, respectively. Regarding corrosion performance, The Cr coatings containing buffer layers showed markedly better corrosion resistance than the bare 7050 Al alloy. A compact Cr2O3 passive film formed on their surfaces, cutting the corrosion current density by roughly two orders of magnitude. Among all samples, the Ti/Cr coating performed best, registering the lowest current density (1.687 × 10−6 A cm−2) and the highest charge-transfer resistance (6090 Ω cm2). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Surface Engineering of Alloys: Coatings and Thin Films)
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