Correlation of microstructure and wear resistance of molybdenum blend coatings fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying

The correlation of microstructure and wear resistance of various molybdenum blend coatings applicable to automotive parts was investigated in this study. Five types of spray powders, one of which was pure molybdenum powder and the others were blends of brass, bronze, and aluminum alloy powders with molybdenum powder, were deposited on a low-carbon steel substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). Microstructural analysis of the coatings showed that they consisted of a curved lamellar structure formed by elongated splats, with hard phases that formed during spraying being homogeneously distributed in the molybdenum matrix. The wear test results revealed that the blend coatings showed better wear resistance than the pure molybdenum coating because they contained a number of hard phases. In particular, the molybdenum coating blended with bronze and aluminum alloy powders and the counterpart material showed an excellent wear resistance due to the presence of hard phases, such as CuAl2 and Cu9Al4. In order to improve overall wear properties for the coating and the counterpart material, appropriate spray powders should be blended with molybdenum powders to form hard phases in the coatings.