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Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 2474

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yang Bao

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Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
Interests: high-performance titanium matrix composites; metal additive manufacturing; metal surface enhancement; welding material development; metal strengthening strategies

Prof. Dr. Xinxin Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Material Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: metals; films; surfaces

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In industrial applications, wear and corrosion remain the predominant failure mechanisms of metallic components, often leading to substantial economic losses and operational downtime. Surface engineering through advanced metallic coatings has emerged as a critical strategy to significantly extend the operational lifespan of metallic systems while enhancing their functional performance. In this context, research activities related to surface metallic coating are of significance.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate cutting-edge research on the wear, corrosion, and oxidation of metallic material coatings. Research papers exploring innovations in coating preparation, composition/structure design, characterization, performance enhancement, and failure analysis will be given special consideration. Above all, all submissions should include rigorous discussions on process–microstructure–performance correlations from a materials science perspective and provide new understanding and insights based on experimental characterization of the coating material. Topic of interests should cover the following two aspects:

A: Process: direct energy deposition, plasma spraying, wet chemical and electrochemical process, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc.

B: Performance: wear resistance (abrasion, fretting erosion, etc.), tribological performance, corrosion and oxidation resistance, multifunctional integration performance, etc.

Dr. Yang Bao
Prof. Dr. Xinxin Ma
Guest Editors

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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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

metallic material coatings
advanced synthetic methods
wear, corrosion, and oxidation performance
multifunctional integration
failure analysis
modeling
simulation

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 19846 KB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Microstructure Evolution on Tribological and Corrosion Performances of QPQ-Treated 40Cr Steel

by Jingtao Yang, Chengyuan Ni, Sen Feng, Chengdong Xia and Minghua Yin

Materials 2026, 19(8), 1557; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19081557 - 13 Apr 2026

Viewed by 248

Abstract

Quench–polish–quench (QPQ) of 40Cr steel was performed to improve its tribological properties and corrosion resistance, thereby enhancing the service performance of components such as gears and bearings. The 40Cr steel was treated by QPQ at 580 °C and 620 °C for 90 or 120 min. Optical microscopy (OM, Sunny Group, Ningbo, China), scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan), and X-ray diffraction (XRD Rigaku Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) were used to characterise the microstructure and phase constitution. Ball-on-disk tribometry, electrochemical tests, and salt spray tests in 3.5 wt.% NaCl evaluated surface performance. At 580 °C, a composite structure of Fe₃O₄ and ε-Fe₂₋₃N formed on the surface. When the temperature rose to 620 °C, ε-Fe_2–3N gradually transformed into γ′-Fe₄N. Within the scope of this study, the diffusion layer depth exhibits an approximately linear relationship with increasing processing temperature and holding time, and the surface hardness is 67–112% higher than that of the untreated sample. After QPQ treatment, the wear mechanism changed from adhesive wear to abrasive wear. However, under the treatment conditions of 620 °C × 120 min, brittle surface spalling increased roughness, thereby increasing the coefficient of friction. As treatment time increases, nitrogen atoms continue to diffuse outward as Fe₂N transforms to the γ′ phase. This increases the composite layer’s porosity and decreases its corrosion resistance. The best corrosion resistance was observed at 580 °C for 120 min, with a corrosion potential of −0.4325 V, corrosion current density of 1.80 × 10⁻⁶ A·cm⁻², and polarisation resistance of 24,500 Ω. Corrosion performance depends on overall surface integrity. Porosity morphology strongly influences this property. For 40Cr steel, the results show that surface properties are primarily determined by the quality of the compound layer’s microstructure. Specifically, density, phase-composition stability, and defect control are more important than the commonly held view of layer thickness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances)

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20 pages, 4599 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Al-Si-Mg-Zr-Cu-Sc Alloy

by Junyi He, Jie Liu, Xiaoli Cui, Binbin Li, Xiaoqing Tian, Chao Lu, Zongshen Wang, Shan Gao, Wenqing Shi and Di Tie

Materials 2026, 19(7), 1422; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19071422 - 2 Apr 2026

Viewed by 340

Abstract

Aluminum–silicon (Al-Si) alloys are widely used in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, power electronics, marine engineering and other fields due to their excellent physical properties. However, their corrosion resistance is insufficient in harsh service environments. In this study, a variety of characterization methods were adopted, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical measurements (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization), immersion corrosion tests, and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). The results show that the appropriate heat treatment regime can significantly enhance the corrosion resistance of the alloy, while improper aging parameters will aggravate the corrosion tendency. The optimal heat treatment regime is solution treatment at 500 °C for 4 h followed by aging at 200 °C for 48 h. Under this condition, the corrosion current density (i_corr) is as low as 79.30 μA/cm², and the low-frequency impedance modulus and phase angle in EIS tests are optimal. The as-extruded alloy exhibits severe localized corrosion, while the heat-treated alloy transforms into mild and uniform corrosion. The underlying mechanism is that heat treatment induces the formation of uniformly distributed nanoscale Mg₂Si and Al₃(Sc,Zr) precipitates, which synergistically improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy by weakening micro-galvanic coupling and facilitating the formation of a stable passive film. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances)

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17 pages, 6092 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of HfC Addition on Microstructure and Wear Resistance of CoCrFeNiTi Coatings Fabricated by Laser Cladding

by Junbiao Zheng, Fangyan Luo, Xinnuo Li, Xuemeng Zhan, Chao Gao and Jiang Huang

Materials 2026, 19(5), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19050841 - 24 Feb 2026

Viewed by 286

Abstract

HfC possesses high hardness, high melting point, and excellent thermal stability, and is regarded as an important wear-resistant reinforcing phase material. In this study, the laser cladding technique was employed to fabricate CoCrFeNiTi and CoCrFeNiTi/HfC composite coatings on the surface of Q235 substrate. The influence of HfC addition on the phase structure evolution, microstructure, and wear resistance of the coatings was systematically investigated. The results showed that the addition of HfC did not alter the phase structure of the coating, which remained dominated by an FCC solid solution. However, they induced the formation of an in situ TiC strengthening phase and reduced the brittle Laves phase content, thereby optimizing the coating’s toughness. At the same time, the coating transformed from columnar to equiaxed crystals, with significantly finer grains and further improved structural uniformity. Compared with the CoCrFeNiTi coating, the CoCrFeNiTi/HfC composite coating exhibited a more stable friction coefficient, a significantly lower wear rate, and improved wear resistance by approximately 2.4 times. The performance improvement was mainly attributed to the load-bearing strengthening and crack-pinning effect of the in situ TiC, the inhibitory effect of the reduction in the Laves brittle phase on adhesive wear, and the synergistic effect of Hf, which forms a stable oxidation-protective film during friction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances)

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15 pages, 3159 KB

Open AccessArticle

Localized Corrosion by Chromium Nitride Precipitation in Low-Temperature Plasma-Nitrided Inconel 718

by Juan Fernando Uribe Cruz, Oriana Palma Calabokis, Vladimir Ballesteros-Ballesteros, Yamid E. Nuñez de la Rosa and Edward Andrés Gil González

Materials 2026, 19(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19010063 - 23 Dec 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 549

Abstract

Inconel 718 is widely used in chloride-bearing environments where localized corrosion resistance is critical. This study assesses the effect of continuous low-temperature plasma nitriding (425 °C, 2 h) on the microstructure, hardness, and localized corrosion behavior of Inconel 718. The nitriding treatment produced a surface layer with hardness values up to three times higher than those of the untreated material, associated with a nitrided layer of thickness 6.1–6.7 µm. X-ray diffraction confirmed the precipitation of CrN without the formation of nitrogen-expanded phases. Cyclic polarization tests revealed non-significant changes in the corrosion parameters, except for a two-fold increase in the corrosion rate of nitrided samples. Also, the critical pitting temperature (CPT) decreased by more than 30 °C on average in the nitrided condition, falling below 10 °C. These findings indicate that, although continuous plasma nitriding enhances surface hardening, it significantly compromises the alloy’s resistance to localized corrosion in chloride-rich environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances)

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13 pages, 2855 KB

Open AccessCommunication

Deposition of Multilayer Nanostructured Coating Cr/(Cr/a-C)ml on Alloy Steels

by Boyan Dochev, Yavor Sofronov, Valentin Mishev, Antonio Nikolov, Krum Petrov, Milko Angelov, Milko Yordanov, Georgi Todorov and Krassimir Marchev

Materials 2025, 18(21), 4923; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18214923 - 28 Oct 2025

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 768

Abstract

A chromium/amorphous carbon (Cr/(Cr/a-C)ml) nanostructured multilayer coating with a chromium sublayer was deposited on 42CrMo4 (1.7225,BDS EN ISO 683-2:2018), 100Cr6 (1.3505, BDS EN ISO 683-17:2024), and HS18-0-1 (1.3355, BDS EN ISO 4957:2018) alloy steels, selected for their use in contact-loaded components subjected to cyclic fatigue and intense wear. The coating was sputter deposited by MF pulsed magnetron sputtering under consistent process parameters. The resulting coating, approximately 1.8 μm thick, can significantly enhance the service life of these components. Adhesion was evaluated via the Daimler–Benz test, while coating homogeneity was confirmed through energy-dispersive spectroscopy, revealing a consistent chemical composition across sample surfaces. Raman spectroscopy indicated a high sp³/sp² ratio, confirming a dominant diamond-like carbon structure. Nanoindentation measurements verified the coating’s hardness, aligning with the observed structural properties. These results validate the process parameters for depositing a Cr/(Cr/a-C)ml coating on these alloy steels, achieving this study’s objectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metallic Materials Coatings and Their Wear, Corrosion, and Tribological Performances)

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