Evolution mechanism of the microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed yttria-stabilized hafnia thermal barrier coating at 1400 °C

Yttria stabilized hafnia (Hf_0.84Y_0.16O_1.92, YSH16) coatings were sprayed by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The effects of thermal aging at 1400 °C on the microstructures, mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of the coatings were studied. The results show that the as-sprayed coating was composed of the cubic phase, and the nano-sized monoclinic (M) phase was precipitated in the annealed coating. The presence of M phase effectively constrained the sintering of the coating due to its superior sintering-resistance. The Young's modulus kept at a nearly same level of ~78 GPa even after annealing, and the coating annealed for 6 h yielded a maximum value of hardness but revealed a declining tendency in the Vicker's hardness with prolonged sintering time. The thermal conductivity increased from 0.8-0.95 W m^-1 K^-1 at as-sprayed state to 1.6 W m^-1 K^-1 after annealing at 1400 °C for 96 h. The dual-phase coating is promising to serve at temperatures above 1400 °C due to its excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties.     

Beneficial role of carbon black on the properties of TiC ceramics

This investigation aimed to study the influence of carbon black on the qualifications of TiC-based materials. For this objective, two samples, namely monolithic TiC and TiC-5 wt% carbon black were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method at 1900 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to characterize the as-sintered samples. Introducing carbon black enhanced the relative density of TiC significantly, reaching a near fully dense substance. Phase analysis and microstructural studies manifested the formation of non-stoichiometric TiC_x in both ceramics. Although the introduction of carbonaceous additive considerably increased the thermal conductivity and flexural strength of TiC, standing at 25.1 W/mK and 658 MPa, respectively, its influence on the Vickers hardness was trivial (both ~ 3200 HV_0.1 kg). Finally, the composite specimen presented a lower coefficient of friction (~ 0.31) on average compared to the undoped TiC (~ 0.34).     

Microstructures,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of sprayed Ca–P coating for micropatterning carbon/carbon substrate surface

Carbon/carbon (C/C) surface micropatterning is a method of modifying the surface into the complete and regular geometry. In this work, we introduce a positive effect on bonding strength between sprayed Ca–P coating and surface micropatterning C/C substrate. Interestingly, C/C substrate coated by Ca–P coating provides textured surface for a new bone ingrowth. The sprayed Ca–P coating is then subjected to microwave-hydrothermal (MH) treatment with the aim of eliminating surface defects and obtaining a uniform purity phase. These objectives were achieved in our previous study by the MH method. The molar ratio of Ca/P in the coatings is nearly close to 1, which is far below that of Ca/P for hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂, HA, 1.67). The purpose of this article is to transform the phases in the sprayed Ca–P coating, which owns the better bioactivity and high corrosion resistance. In order to raise the molar ratio of Ca/P, the coatings are treated under high-temperature (around 700 °C). They are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and a fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR). The bonding strength (coating/substrate), biological activity and corrosion resistance of the coatings are investigated. The resulting coatings own the different microstructures and phase compositions from the original sprayed Ca–P coating. Especially, results show that the shear strength of the sprayed Ca–P coating deposited on surface micropatterning C/C substrate increases by 61% which is more than that of the coating on non-surface micropatterning C/C substrate. Additionally, high-temperature treated coating presents a good biological activity and an excellent corrosion resistance of current density (1.3078 × 10^-6 A/cm²) and potential (−0.17 V_SCE).     

Present status and future prospects of plasma sprayed multilayered thermal barrier coating systems

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) play a pivotal role in protecting the hot structures of modern turbine engines in aerospace as well as utility applications. To meet the increasing efficiency of gas turbine technology, worldwide research is focused on designing new architecture of TBCs. These TBCs are mainly fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) as it is more economical over the electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technology. Notably, bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC structures are recognized as favorable designs to obtain adequate coating performance and durability. In this regard, an attempt has been made in this article to highlight the structure, characteristics, limitations and future prospects of bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC systems fabricated using plasma spraying and its allied techniques like suspension plasma spray (SPS), solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) and plasma spray –physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD).     

Mechanical properties and microstructure of Yb2SiO5 environmental barrier coatings under isothermal heat treatment

Yb₂SiO₅ (ytterbium monosilicate) top coatings and Si bond coat layer were deposited by air plasma spray method as a protection layer on SiC substrates for environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) application. The Yb₂SiO₅-coated specimens were subjected to isothermal heat treatment at 1400 °C on air for 0, 1, 10, and 50 h. The Yb₂SiO₅ phase of the top coat layer reacted with Si from the bonding layer and O₂ from atmosphere formed to the Yb₂Si₂O₇ phase upon heat treatment at 1400 °C. The oxygen penetrated into the cracks to form SiO₂ phase of thermally grown oxide (TGO) in the bond coat and the interface of specimens during heat treatment. Horizontal cracks were also observed, due to a mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the top coat and bond coat. The isothermal heat treatment improves the hardness and elastic modulus of Yb₂SiO₅ coatings; however, these properties in the Si bond coat were a little bit decreased.     

Engineering of Self-Assembled Fibronectin Matrix Protein and Its Effects on Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Fibronectin (FN) contributes to cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in various cell types. To enhance the activity of fibronectin at the sites of focal adhesion, we engineered a novel recombinant fibronectin (FNIII10) fragment connected to the peptide amphiphile sequence (PA), LLLLLLCCCGGDS. In this study, the effects of FNIII10-PA on rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) were compared with those of FNIII10. FNIII10-PA showed the prominent protein adhesion activity. In addition, FNIII10-PA showed a significantly higher effect on adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of rMSCs than FNIII10. Taken together, the FNIII10-containing self-assembled sequence enhanced rMSCs adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.     

Characterization of a plasma polymer coating from an organophosphorus silane deposited at atmospheric pressure for fire-retardant purposes

Protective coatings from diethylphosphatoethyltriethoxysilane (DEPETS) have been deposited on different polymer substrates in a plasma discharge operated at atmospheric pressure. Plasma polymer chemistry and structure were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (LDI-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A chemical structure of the plasma polymer has been proposed based on the coating molecular characterization. Coatings were deposited on polycarbonate (PC) and polyamide 6 (PA6) substrates. The flame retardant properties of coated substrate samples were assessed using cone calorimetry and compared to those of bare substrates. A significant increase in the time to ignition (TTI), up to +143%, was recorded after coating deposition due to the formation of a high-performance barrier layer at the surface of both polymer substrates.     

Preparation and characterization of alumina submicron fibers by plasma assisted calcination

Ceramic alumina nanofibers were prepared by plasma-assisted calcination (PAC) using atmospheric pressure plasma. Electrospun polyvinyl pyrrolidone/aluminium butoxide fibers were pre-treated by plasma generated in ambient air using a special type of coplanar dielectric barrier discharge. The effect of plasma on fibers and structural, chemical and crystalline properties of obtained ceramic nanofibers were characterized using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis were used for the study of thermal behaviour of untreated and plasma-treated samples. The ceramic fibers prepared by PAC exhibit suitable chemical composition, higher porosity, high length of fibers and better crystalline properties with simultaneous simplifying of the sintering process. The plasma pre-treatment of fibers results in a shortening of following thermal treatment, decrease of the required temperature and excludes a slow temperature increase as prevention of fibrous structure degradation typical in preparation of ceramic fibers by polymer-template techniques.     

Facile synthesis of PdAu/C by cold plasma for efficient dehydrogenation of formic acid

Decomposition of formic acid biomass to generate hydrogen is vital for coping with fossil energy depletion, environmental pollution, and developing clean, efficient, safe, and sustainable modern energy system. In this study, a PdAu/C−C bimetallic catalyst was prepared by the co-impregnation method followed by an atmospheric pressure (AP) cold plasma treatment to synthesize PdAu/C−P catalysts. The resulting PdAu/C−P showed excellent catalytic activity for the formic acid dehydrogenation (FAD) reaction. The total volume of H₂ and CO₂ released from the FAD reaction was about 375 mL after 4 h at 50 °C, and the initial turnover frequency (TOF_initial) was 808.6 h⁻¹. We used X−ray diffractometry (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) to show that plasma can effectively promote the redispersion of Pd−Au particles on the surface of the support. The average particle size of PdAu/C−P (3.5 ± 1.5 nm) was less than PdAu/C−C (4.4 ± 1.9 nm) and uniformly distributed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), TPR, and HRTEM showed that PdAu/C−P has a higher degree of alloying. In addition, the strong electric field in the plasma facilitated more metal sites located on the outer surface of the support in PdAu/C−P, and the atomic ratio of M/C (M = Pd and Au) (0.0134) was much larger than that of PdAu/C−C (0.0060). The apparent activation energy (E_a) of PdAu/C−P for the FAD reaction was only 27.25 kJ mol⁻¹, and it had much higher activity and stability than the commercial Pd/C (Sigma−Aldrich). The total volume of H₂ and CO₂ produced over the PdAu/C−P for three cycles was 1.33, 5.87, and 8.56 times that of commercial Pd/C. Overall, the cold plasma enhanced the degree of alloying, promoted the redispersion of agglomerated particles, and regulated the surface enrichment of the active metal components. This is of great significance for guiding the preparation of high−performance multi-metal catalysts by cold plasma.