Stability Investigation of TiB2 Coatings in Molten Zinc Fabricated by Electrophoretic Deposition in Molten Salts

Abstract

To enhance the anticorrosion properties of molybdenum metal in liquid zinc, this study successfully fabricated TiB2 coatings on molybdenum substrates via the molten salt electrophoretic deposition technique and investigated their corrosion resistance in molten zinc. Initially, TiB2 nanoparticles with a size ranging from 50 to 150 nm were synthesized using the borothermal reduction method in a molten NaF-AlF3 bath at 1238 K. Subsequently, the electrophoretic deposition experiment was conducted under a cell voltage of 1.2 V (i.e., 0.6 V/cm) for a duration of 1 h in the melt containing TiB2 nanoparticles, resulting in a uniform, continuous, and compact TiB2 coating (35 μm thick) on the molybdenum substrate. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the TiB2-coated molybdenum metal to molten zinc was tested through continuous immersion. After 120 h of immersion, the TiB2 coating showed no signs of cracking or peeling off, successfully protecting the molybdenum metal substrate from corrosion by molten zinc. The results confirm that the molten salt electrophoretic deposition technique can be used to prepare TiB2 coatings with good resistance to molten zinc corrosion on molybdenum metal.