Innovative Surface Engineering of High-Carbon Steel through Formation of Ceramic Surface and Diffused Subsurface Hybrid Layering

Abstract

In this study, we have demonstrated an innovative single-step, low-cost approach for producing a hybrid layered steel surface with superior properties using waste as the resource. This promising method of transforming an industrial grade steel surface into a multilayered multiphase ceramic/diffused subsurface structure using only the waste source could replace technically challenging and expensive high-performance materials. Strong chemical bonds can be achieved between metal and ceramic structures if a suitable structure can be generated by the judicious choice of materials and processes. We recovered various ceramic materials (Ti, Al, Si/nitrides, oxides, etc.) from a complex mixture of wastes, such as automated shredder residue and metalized plastics from food packaging, through a controlled selective reaction to generate a chemically bonded multiphase ceramic and diffused subsurface on high-carbon steel surface as an ultrahard ceramic surface. The diffused subsurface contains submicrometer-sized carbides (Cr/Mn/SiC) which formed by diffusion of carbon into the base metal. Our result reveals that by turning the normal high-carbon steel surface into a multiphase ceramic/diffused subsurface structure, a seamless gradient of hardness from 14.5 GPa in the nanoceramic layer to 6.5 GPa in the base material can be achieved.

Material Microsurgery: Selective Synthesis of Materials via High-Temperature Chemistry for Microrecycling of Electronic Waste

“…There are previous examples of modifying metal surfaces with coatings sourced from waste to enhance the property of the parent material. − Previously, automotive waste was used to generate a hybrid layer on a high-carbon steel surface to obtain ultrahardness without compromising the toughness of the base material. , This surface layering improved steel’s performance by increasing wear and corrosion resistance under harsh operating conditions . In this study, glass and plastic from spent computer monitors and Cu from waste PCBs were used to produce a hybrid thin film layer on a steel substrate without affecting substrate’s bulk properties.…”