A Review on Tribological Wear and Corrosion Resistance of Surface Coatings on Steel Substrates

Surface coatings have proven highly effective in addressing the critical challenges of friction, wear, and corrosion on steel substrates, which are responsible for over 80% of mechanical failures in industrial applications. Recent research highlights that advanced coatings—such as ceramic carbides/nitrides, high-entropy alloys, and metal-matrix composites—significantly enhance hardness, wear resistance, and environmental durability through mechanisms including protective oxide film formation, solid lubrication, and microstructural refinement. Moreover, these coatings exhibit robust performance under combined tribological-corrosive (tribocorrosion) conditions, where synergistic interactions often accelerate material degradation. Key developments include multilayer and composite architectures that balance hardness with toughness, self-lubricating coatings capable of in situ lubricant release, and active or self-healing systems for sustained corrosion inhibition. Despite these advances, challenges remain in predicting coating lifetime under multifield service conditions and optimizing interfacial adhesion to prevent delamination. Future efforts should prioritize multifunctional coating designs, improved tribocorrosion models, and the integration of sustainable materials and AI-driven process optimization. This review consolidates these insights to support the development of next-generation coatings for extending the service life of steel components across demanding sectors such as marine, aerospace, and energy systems.