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Corrosion and Nano-mechanical Behaviors of Magnetron Sputtered Al-Mo Gradient Coated Steel

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Abstract

A gradient three-layer Al-Mo coating was deposited on steel using magnetron sputtering method. The corrosion and nano-mechanical properties of the coating were examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and nano-indentation tests and compared with the conventional electroplated cadmium and IVD aluminum coatings. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed by immersing the coated specimens in 3.5% NaCl solution, and the impedance behavior was recorded as a function of immersion time. The mechanical properties (hardness and elastic modulus) were obtained from each indentation as a function of the penetration depth across the coating cross section. The adhesion resistance of the coatings was evaluated by scratch tests on the coated surface using nano-indentation method. The results show that the gradient Al-Mo coating exhibits better corrosion resistance than the other coatings in view of the better microstructure. The impedance results were modeled using appropriate electrical equivalent circuits for all the coated systems. The uniform, smooth and dense Al-Mo coating obtained by magnetron sputtering exhibits good adhesion with the steel substrate as per scratch test method. The poor corrosion resistance of the later coatings was shown to be due to the defects/cracks as well as the lesser adhesion of the coatings with steel. The hardness and elastic modulus of the Al-Mo coating are found to be high when compared to the other coatings.

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Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank The Director, VSSC for his permission to publish the work.

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  1. Materials and Metallurgy Group, Materials and Mechanical Entity, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 022, India

    A. Venugopal, J. Srinath, P. Ramesh Narayanan, S. C. Sharma & P. V. Venkitakrishnan

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  1. A. Venugopal
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  2. J. Srinath
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  3. P. Ramesh Narayanan
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Correspondence to A. Venugopal.

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Venugopal, A., Srinath, J., Ramesh Narayanan, P. et al. Corrosion and Nano-mechanical Behaviors of Magnetron Sputtered Al-Mo Gradient Coated Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 26, 105–114 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-016-2413-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-016-2413-9

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