Abstract
Cold spraying has been developed as a high-quality coating process. However, the deposition materials were limited as metallic materials. In this paper, titanium dioxide (TiO2) ceramic particles are deposited on several substrate materials and formed thick coatings, making this approach suitable for a wide range of photocatalytic applications. In order to understand the adhesion mechanism of solid ceramic particles, the structures of feedstock particles are carefully observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM). We find a porous structure which is agglomerated with nano-scaled primary particles. It is assumed that the break down phenomenon occurs due to the cold spray process and influences the adhesion of ceramic particles. The primary particles are bonded within a single crystal. This particular structure is the main factor to make adhesion between the particle and the substrate. SEM and TEM analysis clearly reveals adhesion mechanisms related to the impact of spraying ceramic particles toward the substrate.
