Thermal spray material

Abstract

A thermal spray material comprising granules containing a rare earth oxyfluoride has a particle diameter of 1 to 150 μm at a cumulative volume of 50 vol % before ultrasonic dispersion and 10 μm or smaller after ultrasonic dispersion at 300 W for 15 minutes as determined by laser diffraction/scattering particle size distribution analysis. The particle diameter after ultrasonic dispersion is one-third or less of that before ultrasonic dispersion. The thermal spray material has an average aspect ratio of 2.0 or lower and a compressibility of 30% or less. When the granules further contain a rare earth fluoride, upon being analyzed by X-ray diffractometry using Cu-Kα or Cu-Kα1 radiation, S1/S2 is preferably ≧0.10. S1=intensity of the maximum peak assigned to the rare earth oxyfluoride. S2=intensity of the maximum peak assigned to the rare earth fluoride, both observed in a 2θ angle range of 20° to 40°.