Microstructures of nanostructured ceramic coatings obtained by suspension thermal spraying

In the present work, the elaboration of nanostructured alumina and titania coatings by thermal spraying with liquid precursors is described. Nano- and submicrometer-sized powders were used to prepare aqueous or alcoholic suspensions. The suspensions were sprayed using APS and HVOF processes in order to obtain thin and thick deposits. The paper discusses the coating microstructures as a function of suspension characteristics and spray parameters in both APS and HVOF processes.