Tribocorrosion behaviours of cold-sprayed diamond-Cu composite coatings in artificial sea water

Frictional components in the marine environment always face a synergistic effect of wear and corrosion. Diamond-based composite coatings are known for their excellent wear performances, but few studies were conducted relating to their marine applications. Herein, diamond-copper composite coatings were successfully deposited on stainless steel 316L plates by the cold spraying, employing diamond powder coated with thin copper (Cu) layer. The diamond-Cu composite coatings with a diamond content of 31.79% were successfully fabricated. The coatings showed significantly enhanced wear resistance tested in artificial sea water with the reduced friction coefficient from 0.32 for the Cu coating to 0.10 for the diamond-Cu coating. Further electrochemical testing showed promoted anti-corrosion performances of the diamond-containing coatings. The newly constructed diamond-Cu coatings show encouraging promises as anti-tribocorrosion layers for marine structures.