Ensuring the Quality and Performance of Functional Ceramic Powder Coatings: A Novel Approach Using Non‐Destructive Electrochemical Technique

ABSTRACT The quality of a ceramic coating system encompasses key properties that directly affect its performance, durability, and protective capabilities. Early detection of a low‐quality coating or its improper application is crucial to prevent malfunctions, wear, corrosion, hydrogen diffusion, and the need for frequent reapplications. Here, we report a non‐destructive test to assess key performance parameters of functional ceramic coatings, specifically those based on aluminum. The primary focus is on evaluating the electrical insulation and complex barrier efficiency of the whole coating system. A novel approach based on non‐invasive electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in the NO‐Contact‐to‐the‐Substrate setup (NOCS) is deployed to assess the barrier efficiency of the final coating system. The developed sensing performance can detect defects, pores and other inhomogeneities of the ceramic coatings and assess quality between five various levels (poor, semi‐poor, medium, high, and very high).