Probing into atomically thin layered nano-materials protective coating for aerospace and strategic defence application – A review

Abstract

Selection and utilization of multifaceted coating materials for progressing aerospace and defence technologies that operate in stringent service environments are always challenging. Nevertheless, conventional coatings exhibit limited strength, flexibility, durability, and poor substrate-coating adhesion when exposed to extreme adverse temperatures, formidable fatigue and creep, huge vacuum, and swift velocity. Currently, researchers are increasingly attracted towards the newly emerging single-layered (2D) materials for their structure-property relationship to utilize them as a protective coating that renders prospective outcomes for these concerns. Therefore, this review focuses on various attributes of the atomically thin-Angstrom scale 2D materials such as MXene, hexagonal-BN, graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) including WS2, MoS2, TiN, and WSe2, black phosphorous, and borophenes. A thorough investigation of their lower thermal conductivity (0.16–1.752 W/m/K) when operated between − 10 °C and an elevated temperature of 1100 °C offering exceptional thermal barrier effects, the ultra-low coefficient of friction (0.06–0.6) under different sliding conditions inducing excellent anti-wear/anti-friction behaviour, and the minimum corrosion rate (2.24 × 10-3 to 0.086 mm per year) in varying atmospheric conditions instigating corrosion passivation of the 2D nanomaterials deposited over metallic substrate have been elucidated. These exceptional properties of atomically thin nanomaterials can be potentially utilized in engine components, piston-cylinder linings, and landing gears of aerospace systems, heat exchangers, flanges, and impellers in the marine sector and potentially utilised in muzzle, recoil springs, and barrels of armament technologies.