Abstract
Vitreous enamels represent a class of coatings with different technological properties, mainly appreciated for the protection they guarantee to the covered substrates. This review introduces enamel coatings, describing their production technologies and presenting the main properties affecting the enamel’s durability. Firstly, this review article introduces the most important studies regarding the improvement in abrasion resistance, highlighting both successes and failures. Afterward, the work reveals an outlook about the resistance to chemicals, underlining the good resistance of enamels toward acidic chemicals and discussing the results of studies aimed to improve their performances toward alkaline solutions. This review also considers the corrosion protection property of enamels, highlighting the high barrier effect they provide against the absorption of aggressive substances toward metal substrates. Finally, new perspectives and possible future research paths are presented, being aware that this kind of coating offers both good product protection and functional integrity over time.
Highlights
Enameling has its origins in ancient times and can be considered the oldest technique used by ancient civilizations to decorate precious objects
This review focuses on the durability and degradation of enamel coatings, taking into consideration the external agents that can cause a relevant loss of their protective properties
Enameling of metals is an antique art, and it allows a new material to be created, which combines the features of glass together with the characteristics of metals
Summary
Enameling has its origins in ancient times and can be considered the oldest technique used by ancient civilizations to decorate precious objects. It has been demonstrated that feldspar has an optimal solubility and leads to an increment in abrasion resistance, whereas zircon silicate and spodumene have low solubility and cause an increase in surface roughness, lowering the ability of the coating to withstand wear.[30,42] These studies have highlighted the importance to take under consideration different parameters, as the gloss mostly depends on the additive concentration, whereas the surface roughness is mainly dependent from the type of the used additive.[42]. Rossi et al.,[42] for example, studied the influence of type and quantity of different mill additives on the chemical resistance properties of a standard enamel coating, exposing the different samples to acidic and alkaline solutions. This method is quite complex and refined, it has proven to be a valid alternative to more standard techniques, as it has shown results in accordance with EIS measures All these studies showed that vitreous enamel coatings possess high intrinsic corrosion protection properties, if free of defects, as assessed by Bukovec et al.[89]. The insulating enamel matrix, if dense and free of macroscopic defects, represents a valid alternative to standard organic coatings because it provides a strong barrier effect against the passage of ions and aggressive solutions that can alter the nature of the metal substrate
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