Effect of SiO2 film layers on the high temperature oxidation resistance of 304 stainless steel

Abstract

In order to improve the oxidation resistance of 304 stainless steel, SiO2 thin film was prepared on the surface of stainless steel by sol-gel method with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as raw material. The effect of film layers on the high temperature oxidation resistance of stainless steel at 900 ℃ was studied by means of oxidation kinetics, XRD, SEM and EDS. The results show that the adhesion of SiO2 film to stainless steel matrix is good, which promotes the selective oxidation on the stainless steel surface and the formation of protective Cr2O3 and NiCr2O4 oxide layers. The high temperature oxidation resistance of stainless steel is improved remarkably. The oxidation resistance of the sample coated with three layers of SiO2 film proforms the best, and the oxidation weight gain and oxidation spalling of the sample are only 58.1% and 41.4% of the uncoated sample after 100 hours of cyclic oxidation at 900 ℃. The high temperature oxidation resistance of stainless steel is effectively improved through SiO2 film coating, which is another attempt of surface treatment method applied to high temperature environment, and provides reference for other thin films prepared by sol-gel method.

Keywords

• material failure and protection; sol-gel method; sio2 film; film layers; high temperature oxidation; selective oxidation