Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Polymer coatings often suffer from poor mechanical properties, including low strength and modulus, making them prone to creep failure under minimal loads. To address these challenges, this study introduces a novel polyurethane (PU) coating reinforced with 4 wt% hollow ceramic microspheres (HCM) coated with a TiO₂ shell (HCM@TiO₂). The modified coating exhibited a 111% increase in nanoindentation hardness, along with significant reductions in creep displacement (31%), indentation creep rate (19%), and creep strain rate sensitivity (28%) compared to the base PU. In contrast, a second additive, solid silica nanospheres with TiO₂ shells (SSN@TiO₂), did not improve mechanical performance and even increased creep displacement by 31%, likely due to polymer chain sliding. Notably, the HCM@TiO₂ coating maintained and even improved its creep resistance under higher loads. These findings suggest that HCM@TiO₂-enhanced coatings could be highly beneficial for applications requiring resistance to high-cycle creep-fatigue failure.
Source: npj Materials Sustainability
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,190
OpenAlex ID: W4411838316