Plasma sprayed graphene/carbon nanotube reinforced lanthanum-cerate hybrid composite coating

Lanthanum cerate (LC: La2Ce2O7) is a potential material for thermal barrier coating, whose improved toughness is a crucial necessity for the pathway of its industrialization. Herein, we demonstrated a promising approach to develop graphene/carbon nanotube hybrid composite coating using a large throughput and atmospheric plasma spraying method. Graphene nanoplatelets (GNP: 1 wt %) and carbon nanotube (CNT: 0.5 wt %) reinforced lanthanum cerate (LCGC) hybrid composite coatings were deposited on the Inconel substrate. Addition of 1 wt % GNP and 0.5 wt % CNT in LC matrix has significantly increased its relative density, hardness, and elastic modulus up to 97.2%, 2-3 folds, 3-4 folds, respectively. An impressive improvement of indentation toughness (8.04 +/- 0.2 MPa m0.5) was observed on LCGC coating, which is -8 times higher comparing the LC coating. The toughening was attributed to the factors: such as the distribution of GNPs and CNTs in the LC matrix, synergistic toughening offered by the GNPs and CNTs; (i) GNP/CNT pull-out, (ii) crack bridging and arresting, (iii) splat sandwiching, mechanical interlocking, etc. Finally, this improved toughness offered an exceptional thermal shock performance up to 1721 cycles at 1800 degrees C, without any major failure on the coating. Therefore, the GNP and CNT-reinforced LC hybrid composite coating can be recommended to open a path for turbine industries.

Automated summary

A graphene/carbon nanotube hybrid composite coating was successfully developed using a large throughput and atmospheric plasma spraying method. The addition of graphene nanoplatelets and carbon nanotubes significantly improved the coating's density, hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness. The enhanced toughness allowed the coating to exhibit exceptional thermal shock performance at 1800℃.