HVOF-Sprayed Nylon-11 + Nanodiamond Composite Coatings: Production & Characterization

High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) combustion spraying has previously been shown to be a viable method for depositing polymer and polymer/ceramic composite coatings. The addition of hard particulate reinforcing phases to soft polymeric matrices should improve their durability and sliding wear performance. Nanosized diamond is an ideal reinforcing phase, owing to its high hardness, low coefficient of friction, and desirable thermal properties. Composite coatings comprising a Nylon-11 matrix reinforced with nanodiamonds have been successfully produced by HVOF. An important challenge is preserving the structure of the nanoparticles after thermal spray deposition and achieving their uniform dispersion within the polymeric matrix. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction were used to confirm the presence and retention of nanodiamonds after HVOF deposition. Understanding of the role of process parameters, including the content of reinforcing phase in the matrix and powder preparation route is necessary. Nanoindentation studies demonstrated an improvement in creep behavior and recovery of the HVOF Nylon-11/nanodiamond composites subjected to deformation.