Silicon nitride modified enamel coatings enable high thermal shock and corrosion resistances for steel protection

Abstract

Vitreous enamel is a durable inorganic material that has been extensively used in our daily life for decoration and protection of the metallic substrates. It guarantees optimal corrosion protection to the covered substrates, but, on the other side, the brittle nature of its matrix highly limits its application. Here new enamel coatings were synthesized by adding silicon nitride with the contents of 0, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 5, and 7.5 wt%. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro indentation, impact, thermal shock, and potentiodynamic polarization tests were conducted to evaluate the microstructure and engineering properties of the studied enamel coatings. Results showed that the addition of silicon nitride leads to a high internal porosity of the enamel coating, which consequently improves the resistances against cracking under indentation and impact loads. Especially, the silicon nitride modified enamel coatings were found to survive more than 100 cycles of thermal shocks. Despite the porosity rising, the addition of silicon nitride enhanced the corrosion resistance of enamel coatings at early immersion age, and all enamel coatings kept around 10 times lower corrosion rate than that of the uncoated steel at later immersion age. The findings of this work may provide a solution to steel protection against harsh high-temperature exposure and corrosive environments.