Abstract
Series of super-hard ceramic layers have been successfully developed on high carbon steels, with a significant improvement of corrosion resistance and hardness, without changing the original properties, which were derived from mixtures of slag (electric arc furnace), waste glass (bottles), and automotive shredder residue (ASR) plastics (polypropylene) via the single step surface modification technique. Microstructural analysis by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), crystallography analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-level chemical analysis by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM and EDS), and depth profile surface analysis with three-dimensional chemical mapping by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), followed by electrochemical corrosion test by the Tafel method and hardness test—Vickers hardness measurement. Three areas have been classified, modified surface, interface, and main substrate areas as the synthesis of ceramic layers into surface of the steels that thermodynamically formed during the heat treatment process. Chemical composition analyses have revealed that generated layers consisting of chromium (Cr)- and magnesium (Mg)-based compound have shown an improved corrosion resistance to 52% and hardness to 70% without modifying the initial volume fraction of constituent phases–martensite and retained austenite. These findings have substantially highlighted to the potential use of waste-integrated inputs as raw materials for production in cost-effective way, concurrently decreasing the demand on new resource for coating, alleviating the disadvantageous impact to the environment from waste disposal in landfills.
Highlights
The high carbon steel (HCS) has been dominantly used for many mining and pharmaceutical applications due to its high reliability in strength, hardness, and abrasion resistance [1,2,3]
Mg-based compound that presented in the ceramic layer, which required further in-depth investigations
At different heat treatment temperature, the ceramic become a favourable outcome in an economical way of modified surface
Summary
The high carbon steel (HCS) has been dominantly used for many mining and pharmaceutical applications due to its high reliability in strength, hardness, and abrasion resistance [1,2,3]. With a mediocre level of corrosion resistance, this grade of metal alloy is susceptible to corrosion, which can increase the cost of maintenance [3]. Corrosion protection for steel is fundamental for technological importance, due to the significant used in corrosive environment. Several methods have been developed to enhance the corrosion resistance of steels, for instance, adding alloying elements [4], applying protective coating [5], and surface alloying [6]. These methods are relatively effective in improving corrosion resistance, they have limitations. Applying protective coating can attribute to thermodynamic restriction, causing chemical reaction between the bonding of layers to substrate, which can cause cracking [5]
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