In situ preparation of graphene coating bonded to stainless steel substrate via Cr-C bonding for excellent anticorrosion and wear resistant

Corrosion protection of metals is an active research area due to its importance for commercial applications. However, conventional coating exhibits limited durability, thermal stability and conductivity and is thus not suitable. Although graphene has shown the potential for corrosion protection, it is difficult to directly grow high-quality graphene on commercial steels. Herein, a simple ball-milling method is used to prepare graphene coating on stainless steel balls (SS) for corrosion protection, in which the SS are uniformly encapsulated with graphene coatings by in situ mechanical peeling of graphite crystals. The graphene coating is strongly bonded to the SS via Cr-C bonding, which provides a base for long-lasting corrosion protection. Corrosion analysis reveals that the corrosion rate of the graphene covered SS was reduced up to twenty times lower than that of the bare SS. Furthermore, in situ exfoliated graphene coating can significantly improve the wear resistance, which the wear rate decreased from 6.45 x 10(-13) to 4.31 x 10(-13) m(2)N(-1). The present study can also provide a straightforward approach towards preparing graphene coatings on metal substrate.