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Les aciers inoxydables austénitiques sont très utilisés dans l’industrie. Reconnus pour leur résistance à la corrosion, ils le sont également pour leur forte susceptibilité à l’usure adhésive (grippage). Cela a pour conséquence une dégradation accélérée des matériaux, ce qui conduit à des pannes brutales, à des pertes de performances et à une augmentation des coûts d’exploitation. Le CETIM et le CIRIMAT explorent des solutions basées sur des revêtements protecteurs afin de diminuer le coefficient de frottement et le volume d’usure. Des sols chargés en carbone sont élaborés et déposés par trempage-retrait sur des substrats en acier inoxydable 304L. Après gélification et traitement thermique en atmosphère inerte, des revêtements carbone-céramique d’une épaisseur d’environ 2 à 7 μm sont obtenus. Deux matrices (alumine et alumine-silice) sont étudiées, ainsi que différentes charges carbonées: du graphite commercial et des nanotubes de carbone (NTC) dont le nombre de parois moyen est égal à 2, 8 ou 20. Des essais tribologiques rotatifs bille-plan réalisés selon la norme ASTM G99 (bille en acier, charge normale 2N, vitesse 10 cm/s, 250 m de glissement) ont montré que les revêtements graphite-alumine présentent un plus faible coefficient de frottement et une plus faible usure que les revêtements alumine et NTC-alumine. Nous montrons que la surface totale de carbone disponible dans l’échantillon est le paramètre pertinent et que l’exfoliation progressive du graphite en graphène oligocouche (2-5) pendant l’essai permet de générer in situ de nouvelles surfaces, tandis que les NTC ne subissent pas d’endommagement majeur. Nous mettons en évidence la formation d’un tribofilm lubrifiant au contact bille/revêtements composites. Nous nous sommes donc orientés vers la pré-exfoliation du graphite dans le sol par différentes méthodes. Nous mettons en évidence qu’une méthode impliquant de grandes contraintes de cisaillement permet la pré-exfoliation efficace du graphite, la surface de carbone étant alors 1300 fois plus grande qu’avec la dispersion par sonde à ultrasons. Nous montrons que ce sont les échantillons GBC-alumine qui présentent les plus faibles volumes d’usure (0,0023 mm3) et coefficient de frottement (0,14) de ce travail. Le dernier chapitre est consacré à l’étude de l’adhérence du revêtement au substrat et du comportement tribologique des revêtements lors d’un essai industriel sévère (ASTM G133). Il est notamment mis en évidence que les revêtements à matrice alumine-silice présentent une meilleure adhérence que ceux à matrice alumine. / Austenitic stainless steels are widely used in industry. Recognized for their resistance to corrosion, they are also known for their high susceptibility to adhesive wear (seizure). This results in accelerated material degradation leading to sudden failures, loss of performance and increased operating costs. CETIM and CIRIMAT are actively exploring solutions based on protective coatings in order to reduce the friction coefficient and the wear volume. Carbon-loaded sols are prepared and deposited by dip-coating on 304L stainless steel substrates. After gelation and heat-treatment in an inert atmosphere, carbon-ceramic coatings about 2 to 7 μm thick are obtained. Two matrices (alumina and alumina-silica) are studied, as well as different carbonaceous fillers: commercial graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNT) with an average number of walls equal to 2, 8 or 20. Rotative friction tests performed according to the ASTM G99 standard (steel ball, normal load 2N, velocity 10 cm/s, distance 250 m) have shown that the graphite-alumina coatings show a lower friction coefficient and a lower wear than the alumina- and CNT-alumina coatings. We show that the total available carbon surface area in the sample is the relevant parameter and that the progressive exfoliation of graphite to flew-layered-graphene (2-5) during the test generates new surfaces in situ whereas the CNT do not sustain any major damage. We bring to light the formation of a lubricating tribofilm in the contact between the friction ball and the composite coating. Therefore, we have focused on the pre-exfoliation of graphite in the sol by different methods. We show that a method involving high shear stresses allows an efficient pre-exfoliation of graphite, the carbon surface area being 1300 times higher than when performing the dispersion using an ultrasonic probe. We show that the BLG-alumina samples have the lowest wear volumes (0.0023 mm3) and friction coefficient (0.14) reported in this work. The last chapter is devoted to the study of the adhesion of the coating to the substrate and to the tribological behavior of the coatings in a severe industrial test (ASTM G133). It is notably demonstrated that the alumina-silica matrix coatings show a better adhesion than the alumina-matrix ones.

This thesis describes applications of advanced multinuclear solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments to the characterisation of industrially-relevant catalyst materials. Experiments on γ-Al₂O₃ introduce the use of solid-state NMR spectroscopy for the investigation of disordered solids. The existence of Al(V) sites on the surface of this material is demonstrated, showing that removal of adsorbed H₂O may facilitate a rearrangement effect in γ-Al₂O₃ that promotes the formation of these Al environments. A range of aluminium oxide-based supported metal catalysts has been investigated. Studies of these systems by ¹H and ²⁷Al solid-state NMR spectroscopy indicate that a metal-support interaction (MSI) exists between surface cobalt oxide crystallites and the γ-Al₂O₃ support, and is strongest for materials containing small, well dispersed Co oxide crystallites. It is shown that the hygroscopic nature of γ-Al₂O₃ allows the extent of the MSI to be visualised by ¹H MAS NMR, by observing the extent of the proton-metal oxide interaction resulting from the presence of adventitious adsorbed H₂O. The surface/bulk chemistry of Co spinel aluminate materials is also investigated. ¹H, ²⁹Si, ²⁷Al and ¹⁷O solid-state NMR techniques are used to gain insight into the structural nature of silicated alumina catalysts. The combination of isotopic enrichment and dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) surface-enhanced NMR spectroscopy can provide a definitive and fully quantitative description of the surface structure of Si-γ-Al₂O₃ (1.5 wt% Si), and the role of adventitious surface water is highlighted. Analysis of silicated aluminas prepared by “sequential grafting” and “single shot” approaches shows that silica growth on γ-Al₂O₃ follows two distinct morphologies. ¹⁷O gas exchange enrichment is also shown to be successful in facilitating ¹⁷O solid-state NMR studies of these materials. It is demonstrated that double (²⁹Si and ¹⁷O) enrichment of Si-γ-Al₂O₃ (1.5 wt% Si) can facilitate access to ²⁹Si-¹⁷O 2D correlation experiments, even at low silica loading. An exploratory investigation of Ti-alumina model catalysts has also been carried out using ¹H, ²⁷Al and ¹⁷O solid-state NMR spectroscopy. These studies indicate that Ti-γ-Al₂O₃ and Ti-Al M50 may be structurally distinct materials.