Development of Silane-Based Coatings with Zirconia Nanoparticles Combining Wetting, Tribological, and Aesthetical Properties

Abstract

Silane-based coatings with nanoparticles have been widely used in applications related to surface protection. Between them, the improvement of corrosion resistance by increasing the hydrophobicity is one of the main research goals. However, most coatings present problems of low wear resistance and poor aesthetic appearance. Therefore, the overall goal of this research is to manufacture hydrophobic sol-gel coatings based on silanes which comply with good tribological and aesthetical properties. In the present study, stainless steel plates were coated with a silane-based solution containing zirconia nanoparticles by dip coating. Water-ethanol solutions with silanes (methyltrimethoxysilane (MTS) and tetrathoxysilane (TEOS)) and different percentages of ZrO 2 nanoparticles were prepared. Gloss, color, contact angle, surface energy, wear resistance, and thickness of coating were analyzed to elucidate the effect of zirconium oxide on the performance of the coatings. Results demonstrate that the ZrO 2 -silane coatings on stainless steel offer a balanced combination of properties: low wettability, high wear resistance, and similar color and brightness compared to pristine stainless steel.

Epoxy powder coatings hot mixed with nanoparticles to improve their abrasive wear

“…Authors use nanoparticles of different types to improve the wear performance of different resins, e.g. clay [1], ZrO2 [11], SiAlON [12], TiO2 [13], or even silica nanocontainers [14], with SiO2 nanoparticles being the ones most used [5,10,[15][16][17].…”

A Brief Overview on the Anticorrosion Performances of Sol-Gel Zeolite Coatings

“…Composite zeolite-based coatings still require further development in order to meet the various application challenges induced by the industrial sector. Furthermore, in addition to the aforementioned characteristics of long durability, other new relevant requirements need to be considered, such as aesthetics, environmental sustainability, and hydrophobicity [122][123][124][125][126].…”

Manufacturing and Characterization of Coatings from Polyamide Powders Functionalized with Nanosilica

“…Anyway, the Δ E is always less than 1.2, and there are studies that indicate that the color change is not important or appreciable if it does not exceed the value of 10 [ 61 ]. In any case, other authors have reported bigger changes in the Δ E of their coatings after nanoadditions [ 11 , 62 ].…”