Strategy to improve the high-temperature mechanical properties of Cr-alloy coatings

Electroplated Cr-C alloy coatings exhibit significant increases in hardness and strength when exposed to elevated temperatures up to about 600 degrees C, owing to the evolution of their nanostructure. In this article, we describe a strategy by which this evolution can be shifted to even higher temperatures (approaching 850 degrees C), through a ternary addition of phosphorus. The resulting Cr-C-P coatings may be suitable for applications at higher service temperatures, where more conventional Cr-based coatings soften rapidly.