Thermal barrier coatings with (Al2O3–Y2O3)/(Pt or Pt–Au) composite bond coat and 8YSZ top coat on Ni-based superalloy

Developing new bond coat has been acknowledged as an effective way to extend the service life of thermal barrier coating (TBC) during high temperature. In this study, novel thermal barrier coating system, which is composed with an (Al2O3–Y2O3)/(Pt or Pt–Au) composite bond coat and a YSZ top coat on Ni-based superalloy, has been prepared by magnetron sputtering and EB-PVD, respectively. It is demonstrated, from the cyclic oxidation tests in air at 1100 °C for 200 h, that the YSZ top coat and alloy substrate can be bonded together effectively by the (Al2O3–Y2O3)/(Pt or Pt–Au) composite coating, showing excellent resistance to oxidation, cracking and buckling. These beneficial results can be attributed to the sealing effect of such composite coating, by which the alloy substrate can be protected from oxidation and the interdiffusion between the bond coat and alloy substrate can be avoided; and the toughening effect of noble metals and composite structure of bond coat, by which the micro-cracks propagation can be inhibited and the stress in bond coat can be relaxed. This ceramic/noble metal composite coating can be a considerable structure which would has great application prospect in the TBC.