MoO3 thick film was manufactured by using a thermal spray process (Atmospheric Plasma Spray, or APS) and its microstructure, phase composition and properties of the coating layer were investigated. Initial powder feedstock was composed of an orthorhombic α-MoO3 phase, and the average powder particle size was 6.7 μm. As a result of the APS coating process, a MoO3 coating layer with a thickness of about 90 μm was obtained. Phase transformation occurred during the process, and the coating layer consisted of not only α-MoO3 but also β-MoO3, MoO2. Phase transformation could be due to the rapid cooling that occurred during the process. The properties of the coating layer were evaluated using a nano indentation test. Hardness and reduced modulus were obtained as 0.47 GPa and 1.4 GPa, respectively. Based on the above results, the possibility of manufacturing a MoO3 thick coating layer using thermal spray is presented.

A pure molybdenum (Mo) coating layer was manufactured by using the atmospheric plasma spray (APS) process and its wear and corrosion characteristics were investigated in this study. A Mo coating layer was prepared to a thickness of approximately 480 μm, and it had sound physical properties with a porosity of 2.9% and hardness of 434 Hv. Room temperature dry wear characteristics were measured through a ball-on-disk test under load conditions of 5 N, 10 N and 15 N. Based on the coefficient of friction graph at 5 N and 10 N, the oxides formed during wear functioned as a wear lubricant, thereby confirming an increase in wear resistance. However, at 15 N, wear behavior changed, and wear occurred due to splat pulling out. A potentiodynamic polarization test was conducted under an artificial seawater atmosphere, and E_corr and I_corr measured 0.717 V and 7.2E-5 A/cm2, respectively. Corrosion mainly occurred at the splat boundary and pores that were present in the initial state. Based on the findings above, the potential application of APS Mo coating material was also discussed.