Enhancement of corrosion resistance of steel, coated with various coatings on the base of SiO2, TiO2, ZrO2 and CeO2

Different corrosion-resistant coatings based on various SiO2, TiO2, ZrO2 and CeO2oxides have been applied to various steels by the sol-gel method and spray pyrolysis. The obtained experimental coatings were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and weight loss measurements in 3.5% NaCl medium. TiO2 / SiO2 and CeO2/SiO2 coatings treated at lower temperatures (500oC) have been shown to exhibit higher corrosion resistance than ZrO2/SiO2 samples. Increasing the treatment temperature decreases the protective properties of the invesitgated coatings. The enhanced protective properties of TiO2/SiO2 are probably due to their low crystallized fine grained structure and relatively dense surface without visible cracks.