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Quantitative characterization of the interfacial failure of metallic coatings on epoxy substrates in salty atmospheres

Polymer Journal volume 57, pages 1015–1023 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Although a multilayered metallic coatings on epoxy surfaces can enhance material performance, under acidic and salty conditions, such as sweat, the coatings usually delaminate from polymer surfaces. Therefore, we investigated the interfacial failure of a Ni/Ag/Ni coating on an epoxy surface after long-term exposure to salt spray air or artificial sweat containing abundant Cl− ions. Cross-sectional atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to probe the changes in the interfacial morphologies and depth profiles of the chemical composition, respectively, to elucidate the mechanism by which Ni/Ag/Ni trilayered coatings delaminate from epoxy substrates in Cl−-containing atmospheres. The results revealed that Cl− ions penetrated through the epoxy, diffused into the metal–polymer interface, and dissolved the Ni layer at the epoxy surface, detaching the metallic layer from the polymer surface. In response to the failure mechanism mentioned above, we propose that by partially replacing the Ni primer layer with Ni2O3, which is inert in acidic Cl− atmospheres, the Ni2O3/Ni/Ag/Ni coating strongly resists corrosion in salt spray air and possesses good long-term interfacial bonding under acidic Cl− atmospheres.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. LZ25E030001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Textile Science and Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China

    Zhichao Jiang

  2. Guang Dong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd., Guangdong, Dongguan, China

    Zhichao Jiang, Yi Ding & Zhibin Chen

  3. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China

    Biao Zuo

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  1. Zhichao Jiang
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  2. Yi Ding
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  3. Zhibin Chen
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  4. Biao Zuo
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Correspondence to Biao Zuo.

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Jiang, Z., Ding, Y., Chen, Z. et al. Quantitative characterization of the interfacial failure of metallic coatings on epoxy substrates in salty atmospheres. Polym J 57, 1015–1023 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-025-01062-4

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