Electrophoretic deposition of ZrB2 coatings in molten chloride salts with varying concentrations of ZrB2 nanoparticles

Electrophoretic deposition of ZrB 2 nanoparticles in high-temperature molten salts can be used for the preparation of ZrB 2 coatings, and its related investigation is still in its early stage. In this paper, a dense and adhesive ZrB 2 coating has been produced by electrophoretic deposition in NaCl–KCl–AlCl 3 molten salts containing ZrB 2 nanoparticles at 983 K, showing good mechanical properties and high-temperature oxidation resistance . Moreover, the effect of ZrB 2 nanoparticles concentration (10–100 g/L) on the preparation of ZrB 2 coatings by electrophoretic deposition has been explored. The dependence of the consumed charge on the ZrB 2 deposition amount under various ZrB 2 nanoparticles concentration has been demonstrated. It is assumed that at a low ZrB 2 concentration (10–60 g/L), the increase of the deposition amount of ZrB 2 corresponds linearly to the increase of the consumed charge; while at a high ZrB 2 concentration (70–100 g/L), due to the possible occurrence of agglomeration and sedimentation during the electrophoretic migration, the charge consumed to form a unit weight of ZrB 2 deposits is higher than that at a low ZrB 2 concentration. It is important to select an optimal ZrB 2 concentration to achieve a high deposition efficiency. The study in this paper can provide guidance for the selection of an optimal ZrB 2 nanoparticle concentration in the process of preparing ZrB 2 coatings by molten salt electrophoretic deposition.