Advanced Coating Technologies for Alloy Surfaces

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced coating technologies for alloy surfaces have become increasingly critical in response to global demands for higher performance, longer service life, and improved sustainability across aerospace, marine, automotive, energy, and biomedical industries. Modern alloy systems, including lightweight aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and high-strength steels, offer superior mechanical properties but often suffer from corrosion, wear, oxidation, and fatigue degradation in aggressive service environments. As industries pursue lightweighting, electrification, and carbon neutrality, the protection and functionalization of alloy surfaces have emerged as key enabling technologies. Recent advances in physical and chemical vapor deposition, thermal spraying, laser cladding, sol–gel processing, and nanostructured and multifunctional coatings provide unprecedented opportunities to tailor surface chemistry, microstructure, and interfacial bonding, thereby enhancing durability and performance beyond the intrinsic limits of bulk alloys.

This research area is particularly timely due to the convergence of several global trends: the need for sustainable surface engineering solutions, the integration of digital manufacturing and intelligent process control, and the development of multifunctional coatings with self-healing, anti-corrosion, anti-wear, and energy-related functionalities. At the same time, significant challenges remain, including interfacial stability, long-term reliability under complex loading and corrosive conditions, scalability for industrial application, and lifecycle environmental impact. Addressing these issues requires interdisciplinary collaboration bridging materials science, surface physics, electrochemistry, and advanced manufacturing. Therefore, research on advanced coating technologies for alloy surfaces is of substantial importance not only for advancing fundamental understanding of surface phenomena but also for translating laboratory innovations into practical, high-performance engineering solutions.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the latest advances in advanced coating technologies for alloy surfaces, with a particular focus on innovative surface engineering strategies that enhance performance, durability, and multifunctionality of structural and functional alloys. We invite contributions that address fundamental mechanisms, processing innovations, characterization techniques, and practical applications related to advanced coatings for metallic materials. Submissions are particularly encouraged in areas spanning surface modification science, interface engineering, electrochemical performance, wear and oxidation resistance, and scalable industrial implementation.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and atomic layer deposition (ALD) coatings;
• Thermal spraying, laser cladding, and additive surface manufacturing technologies;
• Nanostructured, gradient, and multilayer coatings;
• Corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, and oxidation-resistant coatings;
• Functional coatings (self-healing, anti-fouling, anti-icing, hydrophobic, bioactive, or energy-related coatings);
• Coating–substrate interfacial design and adhesion mechanisms;
• Surface modification of aluminum, magnesium, titanium, steel, and high-entropy alloys;
• Environmentally friendly and sustainable coating processes;
• Modeling, simulation, and in situ characterization of coating behavior;
• Long-term durability, degradation mechanisms, and lifecycle assessment.

We welcome both original research articles and comprehensive review papers that contribute to advancing the scientific understanding and industrial application of coating technologies for alloy surfaces.

Dr. Yi Lu
Dr. Shengping Wen
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

• advanced coating technologies
• alloy surface engineering
• corrosion and wear resistance
• interface design and adhesion
• multifunctional surface coatings