Fabrication of Chromium (III) Oxide (Cr2O3) Coating by Electrophoretic Deposition

Chromium (III) oxide has been widely used as a coating material for corrosion resistance. In this study, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of nano chromium (III) oxide (Cr2O3) particle (60nm) was investigated to develop coatings with potential applications of anticorrosive material. The stable suspension of Nano-Cr2O3 particles were obtained in the mixture of acetylacetone and ethanol containing 0.00025M nitric acid. The coating growth rate was studied with using different deposition times in the range of 1-30min at voltages of 50-150V with various concentrations of suspension. The electrophoretic Cr2O3 coating was sintered at 1000 degrees C and 1200 degrees C for 2h. The micro-morphology of coating was qualitatively characterized by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM). The SEM micrographs obviously showed that the electrophoretic Cr2O3 coating has formed a uniform and dense ultrathin layer after sintering at 1200 degrees C. We demonstrated that nano-Cr2O3 coating could be easily obtained by EPD for the surface modification of metallic materials for potential interest in hard wear-resistant and/or low-friction coatings.