Tungsten Oxide Surface Coating Makes Steel Stronger

A newly made surface coating for steel can make it stronger and more resistant to rust and corrosion, according to its developers. Scientists from Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) were able to create a surface coating for steel that not only repels corrosion but also makes the metal stronger.

Joanna Aizenberg, a core member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and her team developed a new surface coating from nanoporous tungsten oxide, which is respected to be more durable than any anti-fouling material that has been developed before. Also the coating had passed the tests: scratching with stainless steel tweezers, diamond-tipped scribers, screwdrivers, beating it hard, anti-wetting properties.

According to the team, they made that possible by making an ultrathin film of thousands of small tungsten oxide islands to directly coat the steel surface. If one part of one island is destroyed, the damage will not spread to other islands due to their lacking of connection. This helps the coating retain its repelling properties while helping the steel improve its durability.

The coating material had potential to be used in different industrial and commercial fields, such as: non-fouling medical devices and tools, 3-D printers, large scale use on buildings and on marine vessels or vehicles. The beneficial properties of the coating may save millions in production and maintenance coats.
Tungsten, a high melting point reaches to 3410°C making it becoming the hardest melting metal. Also it becomes the strategic metal, because its properties that high hardness, strong ductility, no erosion at room temperature in the air. Tungsten oxide, which comes from the tungsten, following its excellent properties, thus it’s possible that tungsten oxide surface coating makes steel stronger and durable.

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