Dear Colleagues,

Recent theoretical and experimental developments in surface modifications as single or compound modifications covering metallic or nonmetallic substrates are among the most highly exploited research systems in the fields of tribology, corrosion, surface science and engineering. Spurred primarily by durability in demanding environmental conditions required by current applications ranging from aerospace, medical, automotive, high-speed rail and chemical industries to oil and gas technologies. Driven by the current state of knowledge regarding surface modification, the need to develop new materials and surface-modified technologies and maintain their integrity and reliability under harsh environments, and a renewed impetus towards the durability of new surface treatments and modifications, have seen a huge demand on experimental, theoretical and modeling activities.

The manufacture, design and testing of high-performance surfaces that are either electroactive (metals, graphene, carbon nanotubes, conductive polymers, etc.) or are capable of serving as physical protection layers (organic polymers, composites materials, ceramic materials, etc.) or some combination of the above provides unprecedented functionality and opportunities for multifunctional coatings protecting metallic structures (steels, stainless steels, aluminum, and magnesium). The purpose of this Special Issue is to report the notable investigations of scientists and engineers in the areas of tribology, corrosion, protective and preventive surface coating mechanisms, surface treatment technologies, coating degradation mechanisms, coating performance failure, and test methods.   

The scope of this Special Issue will cover, but not be limited to, the following:

• Theoretical and experimental research, knowledge and new ideas in tribology, corrosion, as well as protective and preventive surface coating mechanisms;
• Recent developments in multi-functional organic, inorganic and hybrid coatings;
• Coatings produced by different processes, including but not limited to additive manufacturing processes, thermal spray, laser and plasma processing, PVD, CVD, and plating;
• Experimental and processing high-performance surface treatments and coatings with exposure to high temperatures, cryogenic temperature, high stress, high speed and other extreme environment applications;
• Understanding the degradation mechanisms of coatings and failure mechanisms of surfaces through friction, wear or other dynamic loading condition and corrosion;
• The latest developments of test methods;
• Computer modeling and simulation to predict coating properties, performance, durability and reliability in service environments.

Dr. Qunfeng Zeng
Dr. Wengang Chen
Dr. Lili Zhu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• surface modification
• surface coating
• surface texture
• lubricant
• composite coatings
• preparation technology
• extreme environment applications
• test methods
• additive manufacturing
• laser cladding