Metals

Metal Coatings

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Metal coatings are crucial in enhancing the performance and longevity of various metallic substrates across numerous industries from aerospace and automotive industries to construction and marine environments.

By applying a protective layer, these coatings improve the resistance of metals to corrosion, wear, and other forms of degradation, thus ensuring durability and reliability in demanding environments.

Continuous innovation and meticulous analysis are key to improving the properties of metal coatings:

Elemental Analysis: By identifying the elemental makeup, it ensures that the coatings have the right constituents to deliver the desired protective properties, such as resistance to oxidation and environmental degradation.
Particle Analysis: This focuses on examining the microstructural features of the coatings. By detecting and analyzing inclusions, voids, and other defects, it helps in understanding the impact of these microstructures on the coating's performance, particularly its ability to resist wear and corrosion.
Structural Analysis: This assesses the mechanical properties of the coatings, such as hardness, adhesion strength, and flexibility. These properties are critical for determining the coating's ability to withstand mechanical stress and maintain its protective functions over time.
Surface Analysis: This evaluates the surface characteristics of the coatings, including roughness, porosity, and adherence to the substrate. Surface analysis is vital for ensuring that the coatings can effectively shield the underlying metal from environmental factors like moisture, chemicals, and extreme temperatures, thereby preventing corrosion and degradation.

Resources

Metal coatings application notes

Pulsed Radio Frequency Glow Discharge-Optical Emission Spectrometry was used to study different electroplated samples. The flexibility of the spot size, the use of a pulsed RF source and the introduction of the differential interferometry profiling make RF GD-OES a key technique for the electroplating industry.

Magnetron sputtering

Pulsed RF GDOES is a companion analytical tool for magnetron sputtering deposition. Magnetron sputtering is a type of Plasma Vapour Deposition. The vacuum chamber of the PVD coating machine is filled with an inert gas, such as argon. By applying a high voltage (RF, HIPIMS etc), a glow discharge is created, resulting in acceleration of ions to the target surface and a plasma coating. The argon-ions will eject sputtering materials from the target surface (sputtering), resulting in a sputtered coating layer on the products in front of the target.

Steel coating plays an important role in preventing corrosion of steel samples. Therefore, an understanding of coatings can help in improving the steel properties. XRF is a powerful technique for measuring thickness and composition of coatings. We carried out non-destructive thickness and composition analysis of Zinc-Nickel coating on steel using the MESA-50 X-ray fluorescence analyzer.

Analysis of films containing metal and metal oxide nanoparticles

Metal and Metal oxides nanoparticles are introduced in films to enhance or add properties – corrosion resistance, photonics effects, antibacterial activity etc. HORIBA is partner of a French research project that, in the same chamber, couples a spray of nanoparticles onto PVD growing layers. Pulsed RF GDOES is used in many researches on these new materials to study the depth profile distribution of the particles and the thickness of the composite layer.

Fast, easy and safe control of Zn-Ni galvanization baths with MESA-50, a portable EDXRF

The EDXRF technique is used for the elemental analysis not only of solids, but also of liquids such as plating solution thanks to dedicated sample cells. This specific example shows the ability of MESA-50 for electrolytic baths follow-up by characterizing the degradation of Zn-Ni galvanization baths.

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HORIBA Solutions

HORIBA provides advanced analytical instruments and solutions that significantly aid in the analysis of metal coatings.

EMIA-Expert

Carbon/Sulfur Analyzer
(Flagship High-Accuracy Model)

EMGA-Expert

Oxygen/Nitrogen/Hydrogen Analyzer
(Flagship High-Accuracy Model)

GD-Profiler 2™

GD-Profiler 2™

Pulsed-RF Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometer

XGT-9000

X-ray Analytical Microscope (Micro-XRF)

Partica LA-960V2

Partica LA-960V2

Laser Scattering Particle Size Distribution Analyzer

nanoPartica SZ-100V2 Series

nanoPartica SZ-100V2 Series

Nanoparticle Analyzer

LabRAM Soleil

Raman Spectroscope - Automated Imaging Microscope

SignatureSPM

Scanning Probe Microscope with Chemical Signature

SA-9600 Series

BET Flowing Gas Surface Area Analyzers

EMIA-Pro

Carbon/Sulfur Analyzer (Entry Model)

EMGA-Pro

Oxygen/Nitrogen Analyzer (Entry Model)

PSA300*

Static Image Analysis System Particle Size

ViewSizer 3000

Simultaneous Multi-Laser Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA)

MESA-50

X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer

XploRA™ PLUS

MicroRaman Spectrometer - Confocal Raman Microscope

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