Pool boiling fouling and corrosion properties on liquid-phase-deposition TiO2 coatings with copper substrate

Fouling on the heat transfer surfaces of industrial heat exchangers is an intractable problem, and several techniques have been suggested to inhibit fouling. Surface coatings are of such techniques by which the adhesion force between fouling and heat transfer surface can be reduced with low surface free energy thin films. In this article, liquid phase deposition was applied to coat titanium dioxide thin films on the red copper substrates with film thickness in micro- or nano-meter scale. Coating thickness, contact angle, roughness, surface topography, and components were measured with X-ray diffraction, contact angle analyzer, stylus roughmeter, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. Surface free energy of coating layers was calculated based on the contact angle. Heat transfer and fouling characteristics in pool boiling of distilled water and calcium carbonate solution on coated surfaces were investigated. Heat transfer enhancement was observed on coated surfaces compared with untreated or polished surfaces due to the micro- and nano-structured surfaces which may increase the number of nucleation sites. The nonfouling time on the coated surfaces is extended than that on the untreated or polished surfaces due to the reducing of the surface free energy of coated surfaces. Corrosion behavior of coated surfaces soaked in the corrosive media of hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide alkali, and sodium chloride salt solutions with high concentration at room temperature a few hours was also explored qualitatively. Anticorrosion results of the coated surfaces were obtained. The coatings resisted alkali corrosion within 7.2 × 105 s, acidic corrosion within 3.6 × 105 s and salt corrosion within 2.16 × 106 s. The present work may open a new coating route to avoid fouling deposition and corrosion on the heat transfer surfaces of industry evaporators, which is very important for energy saving in the related industries. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011