Effects of CeO2 coating on oxidation behavior of T91 steel in water vapor

Oxidation behaviors of blank and CeO2 coated T91 steel were investigated at 600 ℃ in water vapor for up to 150 h. Gold marker was used to define the mass transport direction. The oxide scales were studied with X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and electron probe microanalyzer （EPMA）. The oxidation resistance of the steel is improved by CeO2 coating, though the improvement is not remarkable. Ce-rich oxide band is located at the interface of the inner equiaxed layer and the outer columnar layer after oxidation, which is not consistent with the original surface. The results show that outward iron transport is blocked by the Ce-rich band. A new oxide nucleating and growing site （reaction front） is induced at the inner surface of the Ce rich band.