WEAR PERFORMANCE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PLASMA SPRAYED GRAPHENE ENCAPSULATED RUTILE TiO₂ COATING ON Al 6061-T6

Aluminium alloys, particularly the Al6061 variant, are highly valued in engineering applications for their favorable properties, such as excellent toughness, corrosion resistance, and mechanical strength. The automotive and aerospace industries are increasingly relying on these alloys due to their lightweight and high-strength characteristics. However, the low hardness and poor tribological properties of aluminium alloys necessitate surface modifications to expand their applicability. This study explores the impact of graphene and rutile TiO 2 coatings on the mechanical and wear characteristics of Al 6061-T6 alloy, applied using plasma spray techniques. Plasma spraying a mixture of 2[Formula: see text]wt% graphene and 98[Formula: see text]wt% rutile TiO 2 onto the aluminium surface resulted in a heterogeneous surface morphology with distinct phases of graphene and rutile TiO 2 revealed through SEM and EDS. XRD confirmed the rutile phase in the coating, and Raman spectroscopy identified molecular vibrations corresponding to TiO 2 . Hardness testing results indicated a significant increase in hardness for the coated samples (921.75[Formula: see text]HV) compared to uncoated Al 6061-T6 (48.26[Formula: see text]HV). Wear testing under dry sliding conditions showed enhanced tribological properties for the coated samples, including lower coefficients of friction and reduced wear rates across various loads (10 N, 15 N, and 20 N). SEM images of wear tracks revealed that the coatings effectively minimized abrasive and adhesive wear, especially under higher loads. Specific and linear wear rate analyses further emphasized the coating’s ability to improve wear resistance. The investigation confirms that the G-TiO 2 plasma-sprayed coating significantly enhances the hardness and wear performance of Al 6061-T6, making it a promising surface modification for applications requiring improved mechanical properties and durability.