Production and characterization of metastable ZrO2-Al2O3Coatings obtained by APS plus quench

Producing nanostructured materials through metastable phases is an interesting novel route in the field of ceramic materials. Due to their small grain size and uniform structure, these nanostructured bulk materials exhibit very interesting properties. Metastable coatings can be produced starting from microstructured powders through atmospheric plasma spray technique, followed by a quenching route. The initial powders are melted during the spraying and deposited over a substrate that is quenched with liquid nitrogen feeders, producing metastable coatings. The thermal-sprayed coatings have been characterized using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The properties of such coatings have been also studied obtaining promising results.