NDT&E International 137 (2023) 102829

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NDT and E International

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Non-destructive evaluation of corrosion degree of thermal barrier coatings

using fluorescence
Zhe Wang, Jingjing Zhang *, Haisong Sui, Fei Shi
School of Textile and Material Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, PR China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: With the increasing application of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) in marine environments, the failure judgment
YSZ of TBCs is becoming increasingly important. This paper introduces a method for non-destructive testing of the
Marine environment degree of corrosion of TBCs under alternating high and low temperatures and a Cl− -enriched environment. A
Non-destructive testing
Y2O3-8 wt.% ZrO2 + 1 wt% Tb2O3 (YSZ+Tb) coating (where YSZ is yttria-stabilised zirconia) was prepared by
Fluorescence
atmospheric plasma spraying, and its green fluorescence attributed to the 5D4→7F5 transition of Tb3+ ions was
investigated. Moreover, the fluorescence intensity of the YSZ+Tb coating was reduced after corrosion due to a
change in the Tb3+ crystal field structure caused by phase transition of the ceramic layer. The relationship be­
tween the fluorescence and degree of corrosion of the coating in alternating high and low temperatures was
established.

1. Introduction analyse the failure behaviour of YSZ coatings in corrosive environments

With development of the marine transport industry, an increasing
number of marine engines have been built. The hot-end components of
marine engines are subjected to alternating high and low temperatures
in a Cl− -enriched environment. At temperatures below 300 ◦ C, severe
electrochemical corrosion can occur on component surfaces under the
action of salt spray and high humidity. At high temperatures, there is a
synergistic effect of solid salt water vapour, resulting in high-
temperature oxidation and electrochemical corrosion. Materials used
in such harsh environments require excellent resistance to corrosion and
high temperatures [1]. The thermal spray technique has been successful
in effectively protecting marine structures from corrosion by providing
ceramic coatings for maintenance-free long-term service [2]. Thermal
barrier coatings (TBCs) are excellent ceramic coatings with low thermal
conductivity, oxidation resistance, and thermal shock resistance, which
can separate high-temperature gases from metal and protect substrates.
TBCs are widely used in aviation, aerospace, thermal generators, gas
turbines, and marine equipment to extend the service lives of engines
[3]. Yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) is one of the dominant TBC topcoats
because of its outstanding properties, such as low thermal conductivity,
high coefficient of thermal expansion, and high toughness [4,5].
Therefore, YSZ coatings are promising materials for corrosion environ­
ments with alternating high and low temperatures, and it is necessary to
such as these.
Many methods have been used to detect coating failure. Zhu et al. [6]
identified the types of cracks in TBCs using acoustic emission tech­
niques. Four damage modes were identified by acoustic emission spec­
trum signals: surface vertical cracks (200–220 kHz), sliding interfacial
cracks (300–325 kHz), opening interfacial cracks (400–450 kHz), and
substrate deformation (90–110 kHz). Tang et al. [7] developed a method
for detecting debonding defects in ZrO2-coated nickel-based high-­
temperature alloy sheets using infrared pulse technology. Recently,
Tang et al. prepared a multilayer composite rare-earth-doped coating
based on multiple spraying [8]. The coating colour can directly indicate
the degree of corrosion, but it can only judge erosion damage, and the
preparation process is complex, which makes it difficult to ensure
adhesion between layers. The aforementioned methods show that there
are various potential detection methods for YSZ coatings that can be
used to assess the extent of corrosion of coatings. However, few attempts
have been made to use changes in the crystal structure to track the
deterioration of the damaged coatings. This method reduces the impact
of unimportant factors on the test findings and provides a more realistic
picture of the corrosion of coatings under multi-medium corrosion,
including thermal, mechanical, and chemical [8–10].
YSZ crystals have excellent physicochemical properties, a wide band
gap (5.0 eV), and low phonon energy (470 cm− 1), making them a

* Corresponding author. School of Textile and Material Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, NO. 1 Qinggongyuan, Dalian, 116034, PR China.
E-mail address: zhangjj@dlpu.edu.cn (J. Zhang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2023.102829
Received 15 October 2022; Received in revised form 17 January 2023; Accepted 28 February 2023
Available online 1 March 2023
0963-8695/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Wang et al. NDT and E International 137 (2023) 102829

Table 1
The main plasma-spraying parameters.
Parameters (units) NiCrAlY YSZ YSZ+Tb

Current (A) 450 550 550

Voltage (V) 55 60 60
Primary gas flow of Ar (L⋅min− 1) 0.9 0.9 0.9
Secondary gas flow of H2 (L⋅min− 1) 0.45 0.45 0.45
Carrier gas flow of N2 (L⋅min− 1) 0.45 0.44 0.44
Powder feed rate (g⋅min− 1) 16.1 5.10 5.10
Spray distance (mm) 112 86 86
Gun moving speed (mm⋅s− 1) 483.8 483.8 483.8
Gun step (mm) 7.5 7.5 7.5

Table 2
Composition of materials and production sources.
Materials Mass Production information
composition

YSZ ZrO2 92% Liaoning Light Industry Research Institute Co.,

Y2O3 8% Ltd., Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Tb2O3 99.7% Beijing Huawei Ruike Chemical Co., Ltd.,
Beijing, China
NiCrAlY Ni 59% Liaoning Light Industry Research Institute Co.,
Cr 20% Ltd., Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Al 20%
Y 1%
nickel-based Ni 54.38% Inconel 625, Shanghai Lerun Special Alloy
alloy Cr 22.51% Materials Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
Mo 8.91%
Fe 8.65%
Nb 3.27%
others 2.28%
potential fluorescent substrate. Tb3+ is used as the fluorescence centre;
the outermost electron configuration is 4f8 (7F6). It lacks shielding of the
outermost full layer, and is extremely sensitive to changes in the field
environment, allowing an f-d transition. Tb2O3 doped with YSZ is ex­
pected to achieve an excellent fluorescence effect. A change in the YSZ
lattice will also affect the fluorescence of Tb3+, which can be used as a
fluorescent probe to detect damage to the coating.
In this work, YSZ coatings (YSZ+Tb) doped with 1 wt% Tb2O3 were
prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying and tested for corrosion in
alternating high and low temperature marine environments. The dam­
age to the YSZ+Tb coatings under different corrosion conditions was
characterised, and the corrosion mechanism was explored. The rela­
tionship between the surface fluorescence of the coatings and the degree
of corrosion was explored, providing a feasible method for the non-
destructive testing of YSZ coatings.
2. Materials and method
YSZ + Tb powder was prepared using a high-temperature sintering
method. YSZ and Tb2O3 were mixed at a mass ratio of 100:1. The
mixture was ball milled 1 h before placing it in a muffle furnace at
1600 ◦ C for 10 h. After cooling in the furnace, the mixture was ground
until the particles passed through an 80-mesh standard sieve.
A cylinder of nickel-based alloy with a diameter of 25 mm and a
thickness of 6 mm was used as the substrate. The surface of the Ni-based
alloy was pre-treated before spraying. To remove oil and other con­
taminants from the surface, acetone was applied after the surface was
polished using SiC sandpaper, until it was bright. Sandblasting was used
to increase the surface area of the sample after drying. Enhancing the
bonding power between the coating and substrate is advantageous. GP-
80 plasma-spraying technology was used to prepare the bonding and
ceramic layers. The bonding layer was composed of NiCrAlY and had an
after-spraying thickness of 60–80 μm. The ceramic layers were YSZ and
YSZ+Tb, and their thicknesses ranged from 350 to 400 μm. Table 1 lists
the main plasma-spraying parameters and Table 2 lists the materials and
Fig. 1. XRD of the surface of YSZ coating and YSZ+Tb coating after spraying.
their sources.
2.1. NaCl high and low temperature alternating experiment
A cyclic experiment was carried out in NaCl and with alternating
high and low temperatures. The procedure was as follows: 3.5 mg/cm2
of NaCl were distributed on the surface of the ceramic layer. Another
sample without NaCl served as the control, and all samples were placed
in a box furnace and heated to 900 ◦ C for 20 h. After the furnace cooled,
the samples were removed. The non-ceramic-coated sections were
sealed using 704 silicone rubber from Nanjing University Laboratory
Factory. The YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl was submerged in a 3.5 wt%
NaCl solution, while the control sample was submerged in an equivalent
volume of deionised water.
2.2. Characterisation
The porosity of the ceramic coating was determined using the
binarization method, and three areas were randomly selected for
calculation using the DT2000 metallographic image analysis software in
the OLMPUS-BX51 M optical microscope. The average value was
recorded. The surface and cross-sectional morphology of the coatings
before and after corrosion was characterised using a JSM-6460LV field-
emission scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction analysis was
performed using a D/Max3B automatic X-ray diffractometer (Shimadzu,
Kyoto, Japan). The anode target was Cu, the filter material was Ni, the
working voltage was 40 KV, the tube current was 30 mA, the scan range
was 10◦ –90◦ with scanning step of 0.02◦ , and the scan speed was 5◦ /
min. Raman spectra of the samples were obtained using a Raman
spectroscope (Invia Basis, U.K) with a measurement range of 100–700
cm− 1, operating in a dark room at room temperature. Excitation and
emission spectra were measured using a Hitachi F-7000 fluorescence
spectrometer with a slit width of 2.5 nm. The light source was a 150 W
xenon lamp. The voltage of the photomultiplier tube was 700 V and the
scanning speed was 240 nm/min, and it was operated in a dark room at
room temperature. Using the emission spectrum data, CIE1931 software
was used to obtain the sample colour coordinates.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Structure and morphology of the as-sprayed YSZ+Tb coating
After spraying, the surface of the YSZ was white, and the surface of

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Fig. 2. Microstructure (a, b) and energy spectrum (c) of YSZ+Tb coating surface after spraying.

Fig. 3. Microstructure (a) and energy spectrum (b) of YSZ+Tb coating cross-section after spraying.

the YSZ+Tb coating was yellowish-brown, as shown in Fig. 1. Because
the Tb2O3 content was very low (1 wt%), the original crystal structure of
YSZ was not altered. The Tb3+ did not result in YSZ lattice distortion,
according to the XRD data (Fig. 1).
The sprayed YSZ+Tb coating had a porosity of 29.3%. The energy
spectrum is consistent with the composition of the YSZ+Tb powder, and
the microstructure demonstrates that the roughness of the coating sur­
face is minimal (Fig. 2). Sharp edges and apparent stratification of the
substrate, bond layer, and ceramic layer can be observed in the original
YSZ+Tb coating (Fig. 3).

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Z. Wang et al.
Fig. 4. Surface morphology of YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl (a) and without NaCl (b) after 12 cycles.
Fig. 5. XRD of coating surfaces without NaCl after 12 cycles, XRD of coating
surfaces with NaCl after 12 cycles, XRD of coating surfaces after spraying.
3.2. Corrosion behaviour of the YSZ+Tb coating
The surface of the YSZ+Tb coating exposed to NaCl appeared to
break off and crack after 12 cycles. Cr3+ precipitation may be the cause
of the green appearance of the ceramic layer, indicating coating failure
(Fig. 4a). Without NaCl, the YSZ+Tb coating was undamaged and free of
cracking and pitting. There were no notable differences compared to the
original sample (Fig. 4b). While the YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl on the
surface is difficult to distinguish after the reaction, the porosity of the
YSZ+Tb coating without NaCl decreased from 29.3% to 21.1% owing to
sintering of the YSZ during cyclic corrosion.
The XRD patterns of the corroded coatings are shown in Fig. 5. The
contents of the m-phase and t-phase in the coating can be calculated
from the intensity of the diffraction peaks of the XRD spectrum:
Mm
= 0.82 ×
Im (1, 1, − 1) + Im (1, 1, 1)
Mc,t Ic,t(1,1,1)
The contents of the t- and m-phases in the coating prior to corrosion
were 69.1% and 30.1%, respectively. After 12 cycles, 61.6% of the
YSZ+Tb coating surface without NaCl was in the t-phase, whereas
38.4% was in the m-phase. On the surface of the YSZ+Tb coating with
NaCl, the t-phase made up 43.7% of the surface area, whereas the m-
phase made up 56.3%. This demonstrates that thermal cycling causes
phase transformation in the ceramic layer and that NaCl hastens the
transition from the t-phase to the m-phase [11–13]. This is due to the
fact that Y2O3 in YSZ segregates at high temperatures into a c-phase with
a high Y3+ content and a t-phase with a low Y3+ content [14]. The
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Fig. 6. Raman spectra for of coating sections without NaCl and with NaCl after
12 cycles.
t-phase is then transformed into the m-phase during the subsequent
cooling process. NaCl has a melting point of 801 ◦ C. The segregation
reaction changes from a solid-phase reaction to a liquid-phase reaction
with liquid NaCl at 900 ◦ C, which accelerates the redistribution of Y3+
and the phase transformation from the t-phase to the m-phase. Thermal
cycling causes persistent volume contraction and expansion due to
continuous phase shifts, resulting in fracture initiation and growth [15],
which exacerbates the surface degradation of the ceramic layer.
Phase information can only be obtained for the coated surface
because the XRD scanning depth is typically less than 10 μm. A laser
Raman spectroscopy test was conducted 100 μm from the coating sur­
face to ascertain the crystal lattice conditions within the coating. The
results are illustrated in Fig. 6, where the presence of the m-phase in the
samples treated with NaCl indicates that NaCl corrosion permeated the
interior [16–19].
Fig. 7 depicts the micro-surface shape and energy spectrum of the
coating after 12 cycles. The YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl with higher
surface roughness, with clear gullies and corrosion resembling a skel­
eton (Fig. 7d and e). However, compared with the sprayed sample, the
surface of the coating without NaCl (Fig. 7a and b) did not change
significantly (Fig. 2). The surface with NaCl had a Zr content of 37.20%,
whereas the surface without NaCl had a Zr content of 58.44%, according
to examination of the surface energy spectrum. With chloride-induced
Z. Wang et al.
Fig. 7. Microstructure (a, b) and energy spectrum (c) of YSZ+Tb coating surface without NaCl after 12 cycles; Microstructure (d, e) and energy spectrum (f) of
YSZ+Tb coating surface with NaCl after 12 cycles.
Fig. 8. Microstructure (a, b) and energy spectrum (c) of YSZ+Tb coating cross-section without NaCl after 12 cycles; Microstructure (d, e) and energy spectrum (f) of
YSZ+Tb coating cross-section with NaCl after 12 cycles.
corrosion, there is a relative decrease in the Zr content due to an increase
in the content of O, Cl, and Y elements. Additionally, NaCl corrosion
loosened the structure of the ceramic layer, which could contribute to
the lower Zr content. When compared to the sample without NaCl,
which had a Cr concentration of 0.12%, the surface with NaCl had a Cr
content of 0.63%, showing that Cr from the bonding layer diffused to the
coating surface. Peeling of the coating was caused by heat stress, which
eventually created a gully and vertical surface morphology. High-
temperature sintering is used to create the Tb-YSZ, and after repeated
thermal cycling, Tb may precipitate out of the lattice, which may ac­
count for the lower Tb content.
A well-defined substrate, bond layer, and ceramic layer are shown in
Fig. 3. The cross-sections of YSZ+Tb coatings without NaCl after 12
cycles of cycling are shown in Fig. 8a and b. Although vertical cracks are
visible, the boundaries between the substrate, bonding layer, and
ceramic layer can still be observed clearly. These cracks may be the
result of the volume impact of the crystal structure alteration. The
boundaries between the substrate, bonding layer, and ceramic layer of
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the YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl were blurred after 12 cycles (Fig. 8d and
e), and the energy spectrum clearly shows that Ni and Cr entered the
ceramic layer. (Fig. 8f). This is because NaCl is molten at 900 ◦ C, vertical
fissures are produced by thermal stress and phase transition, and molten
NaCl corrodes along the cracks as they propagate. The corrosion of the
bonding layer is the most severe corrosion, because molten NaCl, a
powerful electrolyte, reacts at high temperatures with the NiCrAlY of the
bonding layer, with Al and Cr reacting preferentially in a cathodic
manner. In a high-temperature environment with sufficient NaCl, an
electrochemical reaction can take place, resulting in Al corrosion. The
reaction is as follows [20]:
1
2Al + O2 + 2NaCl = 2NaAlO2 + Cl2(g), ΔG = − 598.20 KJ⋅mol− at 900 ◦ C
2AlO−2 = Al2O3(s) + O2−
Cr reacts as follows [21–23]:
Cr → Cr3+ + 3e-
Z. Wang et al.
Fig. 9. Local cross-section and energy spectrum of YSZ-Tb coating with NaCl after 12 cycles.
Fig. 10. CIE coordinates (a), fluorescence and corresponding corrosion microscopic cross-section (b) of YSZ+Tb coatings under different corrosion conditions.
Cr3+ + 3Cl- → CrCl3
Compared to the YSZ+Tb coating surface without NaCl, which has a
Cr content of 0.12%, the YSZ+Tb coating surface with NaCl has a Cr
content of 0.63%, indicating that NaCl can accelerate the decomposition
of the bonding layer. The bonding layer may become worn down to the
point where the coating finally fails and slips off. The YSZ+Tb coating
surface with NaCl showed a 0.5% Nb content after 12 cycles, compared
to a 0% Nb content on the coating surface without NaCl, indicating that
NaCl eroded the substrate. An enlarged local image of the interface
between the substrate and bonding layer after 12 cycles of covering
YSZ+Tb with NaCl is shown in Fig. 9. Numerous granular crystals,
which can be recognised as NaCl crystals by EDS, are visible, demon­
strating that NaCl has eroded the substrate.
Bright green light at 286 nm was emitted by the YSZ+Tb layer when
UV stimulation was present. The peaks at 489, 544, 584, and 620 nm are
attributed to 5D4→7F6, 5D4→7F5, 5D4→7F4, and 5D4→7F3, respectively
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[24–27]. The fluorescence intensity of the YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl
decreased by approximately 85% after 12 cycles of corrosion testing
from 8469 to 1294. For the sample without NaCl, the fluorescence in­
tensity decreased from 8469 to 6480, a decrease of only 24%, which is
supported by the XRD data on crystal alterations (Fig. 10b). This sug­
gests that NaCl accelerates the transition from the t-phase to the m-phase
in ceramic coatings. The CIE diagram (Fig. 10a) shows that, following
corrosion, the green component of the YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl is
greatly reduced. This is due to the fact that molten NaCl speeds up the
transition from the t-phase to the m-phase, which has a weaker Tb3+
emission peak due to its poorer lattice symmetry and nonradiative
relaxation.
The CIE coordinates B (0.2696, 0.5471) after 12 cycles of YSZ+Tb
coating without NaCl and the CIE coordinates C (0.2401, 0.3959) after
12 cycles of YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl lie on the straight dotted line in
Fig. 10a connecting the CIE coordinates A (0.2772, 0.5804) of YSZ+Tb
as the starting point and the CIE coordinates D (0.1905, 0.2064) of
ZrO2+Tb as the end point. This is because of the excellent colour purity
Z. Wang et al.
Fig. 11. Fluorescence emission spectrum of YSZ+Tb and ZrO2+Tb (a), energy level transition diagram (b), fluorescence lifetime of YSZ+Tb (c), fluorescence lifetime
of ZrO2+Tb (d).
and similar transition mechanism of rare earth ions, which act as fluo­
rescence centres [9,28,29]. According to the CIE coordinates of the
coating on the AD line, the corrosion status of YSZ+Tb coatings under
unknown corrosion conditions can be determined. The corrosion of the
YSZ+Tb coating under various corrosion conditions is depicted in
Fig. 10b, along with its fluorescence intensity. The degree of coating
corrosion can be identified without destructive testing using the CIE
coordinates and fluorescence intensity.
3.3. Failure mechanism of the YSZ+Tb coating
The ZrO2+Tb and YSZ+Tb were examined for their emission spectra
at 286 nm excitation, fluorescence lifetime measured at 544 nm, and
excitation at 286 nm wavelength in order to investigate the impact of
Tb3+ on the fluorescence of YSZ+Tb coatings (Fig. 11a). The fluores­
cence lifespan and fluorescence emission can both be used to explain the
molecular environment and transition mechanism of the fluorescence
centre, respectively, and to represent changes in the lattice environment
and energy level of the activation centre [30–32]. The fluorescence
lifetime of ZrO2+Tb stimulated at 286 nm and observed at 544 nm can
be described by a single exponential equation (Fig. 11d):
y = A1exp(-x/τ1) + y0
This demonstrates that there is a lattice point in ZrO2 with a 0.696 ms
fluorescence lifetime. Similarly, the fluorescence lifetime of YSZ+Tb
when excited at 286 nm and monitored at 544 nm can be adequately
described by a double exponential equation [33] (Fig. 11c):
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NDT and E International 137 (2023) 102829
y = A1exp(-x/τ1) + A2exp(-x/τ2) + y0
This shows that there are at least two types of lattice points in YSZ,
with fluorescence lifetimes for τ1 and τ2 of 1.526 ms and 2.717 ms,
respectively, according to the following formula:
A1 τ1 2 + A2 τ2 2
τm =
A1 τ1 + A2 τ2
The average fluorescence lifetime is 2.21 ms. The high-symmetry
lattice has a long fluorescence lifespan and the low-symmetry lattice
has a short fluorescence lifetime, according to the La-Porte selection
rule. This is because the f–f transition is categorically forbidden in a
high-symmetry lattice. The symmetry lattice point of the monoclinic
phase is low because ZrO2 has an m-phase at room temperature, whereas
YSZ has t-phase and m-phase lattices. The fluorescence lifetime of the t-
phase is longer than that of the m-phase because of its substantially
higher lattice symmetry. According to the XRD and Raman spectroscopy
findings, the excitation peak has no Stokes shift, which suggests that
Tb3+ is in a highly symmetrical environment and that its fluorescence
centre is situated in the tetragonal phase.
As a result of the lower nonradiative relaxation caused by the higher
lattice symmetry environment than that of ZrO2+Tb, the fluorescence
brightness of YSZ+Tb is substantially higher under excitation at 286 nm
than that of ZrO2+Tb. To preserve the electrical neutrality of YSZ, ox­
ygen vacancies are created when Y3+ is substituted for Zr4+ [34]. The
following reaction can be used to explain the formation of oxygen
vacancies:
Z. Wang et al.
(1-x)ZrO2 + 0.5xY2O3 → xYZr’’ + 0.5xVO’’ + (1-x)ZrxZr + (2-0.5x)OxO
Where YZr represents Y3+ occupying Zr4+ sites, VO’’ represents oxygen
vacancies, and ZrZr and OO are the remaining unoccupied Zr and O lo­
cations, respectively, in the ZrO2 lattice. The second-neighbour locations
of the oxygen vacancies are preferentially occupied by YZr in accordance
with the valence relationship. As a result, some of the Zr4+ ions lose their
eight-coordination symmetry and adopt a seven-coordination symmetry
owing to the proximity of the oxygen vacancy, while Y3+ retains its
eight-coordination structure. While Y3+ is eight-coordinated, Zr4+ in the
tetragonal phase is seven-coordinated, and Zr4+ in monoclinic ZrO2 is
seven-coordinated. A higher-symmetry lattice environment can be ob­
tained in the tetragonal phase by substituting Tb3+ for Y3+, but Zr4+ has
a lower symmetry lattice environment. Because Tb3+ (92.3 p.m.), Zr4+
(72 p.m.), and Y3+ (90 p.m.) have different ionic radii and valence
states, when Tb3+ ions enter the ZrO2 lattice, lattice distortion will
occur, and defects (oxygen vacancies) will increase accordingly. This
explains how fluorescence monitoring is a quick and easy approach to
assess the status of the coating.
At 900 ◦ C, molten NaCl accelerates the redistribution of Y3+ ions,
aggravating the phase transition and volume change in the ceramic
layer. Under the conditions of Cl− -rich thermal cyclic corrosion, cracks
develop on the surface of the ceramic layer. Molten NaCl then travels
through these cracks to the bonding layer where it undergoes a high-
temperature oxidation and electrochemical process that eventually
causes the coating to spall.
4. Conclusion
In summary, a new technique is proposed for the non-destructive
determination of the degree of corrosion of YSZ+Tb coatings under
marine conditions. The degree of corrosion can be measured by taking
the CIE coordinates of YSZ+Tb (0.2772, 0.5804) as the starting point
(intact) and the CIE coordinates of ZrO2+Tb (0.1905, 0.2064) as the end
point (failure). The CIE coordinates of the YSZ+Tb coating with and
without NaCl after 12 cycles were (0.2401, 0.3959) and (0.2696,
0.5471), respectively. The YSZ+Tb coating with NaCl has CIE co­
ordinates that are closer to the endpoint. Consequently, the m-phase
content of the coated surfaces without NaCl and those with NaCl
increased from 30.1% to 38.4% and 56.3%, respectively. Additionally,
after 12 cycles of corrosion, the bonding layer of the YSZ+T coating with
NaCl was severely degraded because of high-temperature electro­
chemical reactions. This work mainly considered changes in the lumi­
nescence of Tb3+ caused by the migration of oxygen vacancies in YSZ in
a Cl− -rich environment, and established the relationship between the
damage and fluorescence intensity and lifetime. However, the applica­
bility of this method depends on the working environment and cannot
quantitatively analyse the degree of damage of a coating. In future work,
increasing the experimental density to quantify the degree of coating
damage corresponding to colour coordinates should be actively
considered, and the application of rare earth ions in different corrosive
media and failure forms should be actively explored. The fluorescence
detection of TBC coating corrosion is an effective technique and may
broaden the application of fluorescence sensing for non-destructive
analysis of thermal barrier coatings.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Role of Zhe Wang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation,
Writing-Original draft preparation.
Role of Jingjing Zhang: Resources, Supervision, Methodology,
Writing-review & editing, Funding.
Role of Haisong Sui: calculation.
Role of Fei Shi: Writing-review & editing.
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NDT and E International 137 (2023) 102829
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Scientific Research Foundation from
the Education Bureau of Liaoning Province, China under Grant number
LJKZ0541.
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