Deposition of Nanostructured Carbon Coatings on Metal Surfaces with the Electric-Discharge Method in a Hydrocarbon Medium

An experimental setup for depositing nanostructured carbon coatings on structural materials is described; it exploits the principle of the electric-discharge destruction of gaseous hydrocarbons to deposit the carbon nanoparticles onto a metal surface. The results of optical metallography, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis suggest that a nanostructured amorphous carbon layer with a grain size of 50–80 nm and an arithmetic average roughness of 35–40 nm and that is capable of absorbing X-rays is present on the sample surface. The coating thickness can achieve 20–40 μm. The characteristics and growth mechanisms of the coatings depend on the ability of the substrate material to interact with carbon.