Cold-Sprayed Composite Metal-Fluoropolymer Coatings for Alloy Protection against Corrosion and Wear

Results of studying the properties of composite fluoropolymer-containing coatings formed by the cold spray (CS) method on the surface of constructional steel are presented. Different ways of protective coating formation are proposed. The composition of coatings was studied using SEM/EDX analysis. The incorporation of super-dispersed polytetrafluoroethylene (SPTFE) into the coating increases the corrosion resistance of the copper-zinc-based cold-sprayed coating. Analysis of the electrochemical properties obtained using EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and PDP (potentiodynamic polarization) indicates that samples treated with SPTFE on a base copper-zinc coating showed lower corrosion current density and higher impedance modulus (j_c = 8.5 × 10^-7 A cm^-2, |Z|_{f=0.1 Hz} = 5.3 × 10⁴ Ω∙cm²) than the specimen with cold-sprayed SPTFE (j_c = 6.1 × 10^-6 A cm^-2, |Z|_{f=0.1 Hz} = 8.1 × 10³ Ω∙cm²). The best anticorrosion properties were revealed for the sample with a cold-sprayed base Cu-Zn layer annealed at 500 °C for 1 h, followed by SPTFE friction treatment and re-annealed at 350 °C for 1 h. The corrosion current density j_c of such a coating is 25 times lower than that for the base Cu-Zn coating. The antifriction properties and hydrophobicity of the formed layers are described. Obtained results indicate that cold-sprayed polymer-containing coatings effectively improve the corrosion and wear resistivity of the treated material.