Study on the wear resistance of graphene modified nanostructured Al₂O₃/TiO₂ coatings

Graphene modified nanostructured Al₂O₃/TiO₂ coatings were prepared on 316L stainless steel by plasma spraying. The microstructure of feedstocks and coatings was characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The bonding strength of the coatings was studied by dual tensile tests. The Vickers hardness of the coatings was used in this paper. The wear resistance of the coatings was demonstrated by sliding wear tests. The coatings containing 6 wt% graphene shows excellent wear resistance, of which the porosity is 35% lower, the bonding strength is 62% higher, and the wear rate is 20–25% lower than that of the non-graphene coatings. In addition, there is no obvious effect on the hardness of the coatings with the addition of graphene.