One-step electrochemical machining of superhydrophobic surfaces on aluminum substrates

A superhydrophobic surface on an aluminum substrate was fabricated by one-step electrochemical machining using the sodium chloride (NaCl) aqueous solution containing fluoroalkylsilane as the electrolyte. The resulting superhydrophobic surfaces showed a static water contact angle of 166° and a tilting angle of about 1°. The morphological features and chemical compositions were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). It shows that the binary micrometer–nanometer-scale rough structures and the low surface energy coating were present on the aluminum surfaces. The resulting surfaces have good properties of anti-adhesion and self-cleaning. The durability of the superhydrophobic surfaces on aluminum substrates was also investigated. This preparation method is advantageous as it does not require acid electrolyte or a separate process to lower the surface energy, uses simple steps, and is environmental friendly and highly efficient.     

Fabrication of sticky and slippery superhydrophobic surfaces via spin-coating silica nanoparticles onto flat/patterned substrates

Silica nanoparticles were spin-coated onto a flat/patterned (regular pillar-like) substrate to enhance the surface roughness. The surface was further modified by a self-assembled fluorosilanated monolayer. The advancing/receding contact angle and sliding angle measurements were performed to determine the wetting behavior of a water droplet on the surface. It is interesting to find that a transition from a Wenzel surface to a sticky superhydrophobic surface is observed due to the spin-coating silica nanoparticles. A slippery superhydrophobic surface can be further obtained after secondary spin-coating with silica nanoparticles to generate a multi-scale roughness structure. The prepared superhydrophobic substrates should be robust for practical applications. The adhesion between the substrate and nanoparticles is also examined and discussed.     

Large area ashing process using an atmospheric pressure plasma

We present an atmospheric pressure plasma processing for ashing photo-resist (PR) layer in the flat panel display and semiconductor manufacturing. Removal of KrF PR, i-line PR, and negative color filter PR layers on a 6th-generation large area (1640 × 30 mm²) substrate was investigated by making use of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma device, which is with a large number of gas-flowing holes. The nitrogen DBD plasma was generated with a mixture of compressed dry air (CDA) and SF₆. To prevent thermal shrinkage of the PR layer, samples were maintained at a temperature less than 100 °C. Uniformity and reproducibility experiments have been carried out in terms of treatment time. Eventually, we obtained an ashing rate of about 600 nm/min for negative color filter PR, and 450 nm/min for KrF and i-line PR at a CDA concentration of 1%, a SF₆ concentration of 0.5%, a carrier N₂ gas flow rate of 1500 liters per minute (lpm) and at an applied power of 8 kW. Amorphous-Si layer loss which strongly depends on the fluorine radicals was at an acceptable level of 5 nm/min in the given conditions.     

Deposition of hybrid organic-inorganic composite coatings using an atmospheric plasma jet system

The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of alcohol addition on the incorporation of metal oxide nanoparticles into nm thick siloxane coatings. Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles with diameters of 30-80 nm were incorporated into an atmospheric plasma deposited tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) siloxane coating. The TMOS/TiO2 coating was deposited using the atmospheric plasma jet system known as PlasmaStream. In this system the liquid precursor/nanoparticle mixture is nebulised into the plasma. It was observed that prior to being nebulised the TiO2 particles agglomerated and settled over time in the TMOS/TiO2 mixture. In order to obtain a more stable nanoparticle/TMOS suspension the addition of the alcohols methanol, octanol and pentanol to this mixture was investigated. The addition of each of these alcohols was found to stabilise the nanoparticle suspension. The effect of the alcohol was therefore assessed with respect to the properties of the deposited coatings. It was observed that coatings deposited from TMOS/TiO2, with and without the addition of methanol were broadly similar. In contrast the coatings deposited with octanol and pentanol addition to the TMOS/TiO2 mixture were significantly thicker, for a given set of deposition parameters and were also more homogeneous. This would indicate that the alcohol precursor was incorporated into the plasma polymerised siloxane. The incorporation of the organic functionality from the alcohols was confirmed from FTIR spectra of the coatings. The difference in behaviour with alcohol type is likely to be due to the lower boiling point of methanol (65 degrees C), which is lower than the maximum plasma temperature measured at the jet orifice (77 degrees C). This temperature is significantly lower than the 196 degrees C and 136 degrees C boiling points of octanol and pentanol respectively. The friction of the coatings was determined using the Pin-on-disc technique. The more organic coatings deposited with octanol and pentanol exhibited friction values of 0.2, compared with approx. 0.8 for the coatings deposited from TMOS/TiO2 mixture (with and without methanol). Wear performance comparison between the two types of coating again indicated a significant organic component in the coatings deposited from the higher boiling point alcohols.     

One-step synthesis of unique silica particles for the fabrication of bionic and stably superhydrophobic coatings on wood surface

The silica particles with unique morphology and hydrophobicity have been synthesized via a drop-coating method. After this one-step sol–gel process, silica particles as well as polystyrene were employed in the bionic and stably superhydrophobic coatings on wood surface (with water contact angle of 153 ± 1° and sliding angle less than 5 ± 0.5°). Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies revealed that the composite coatings possess two dimensional hierarchical structures comprising of micron scale papilla and submicron scale granules. The synergistic effect of micron/submicron binary structure and low surface energy layer was responsible for the superhydrophobicity of wood surface. Moreover, the chemical and mechanical stabilities of treated wood have been investigated as well, and the results show that the product possesses superhydrophobic property in a wide extent, such as pure water, corrosive water under both acidic and basic conditions, and some common organic solvents. More importantly, it will offer an opportunity to extend the range of practical applications for wood resources.     

Deposition of thermal barrier coatings using the solution precursor plasma spray process

The solution-precursor plasma-spray (SPPS) process is capable of producing highly durable thermal barrier coatings. In an effort to improve the understanding of the deposition mechanisms in this novel process, a series of specific experiments, where the substrate is held stationary and the plasma torch is programmed to scan a single pass across the substrate, were conducted and the resulting deposits were carefully characterized. In addition to the deposition mechanisms identified previously in the stationary torch experiments, the deposition mechanisms of two other types of deposits, thin film and fine spherical particles, were identified in this study. The melting of inflight formed 7YSZ particles and their rapid solidification to form ultra-fine splats on the substrate was found to be the dominant deposition mechanism. The characterization of actual SPPS coatings confirmed that the various coating-deposition mechanisms identified in the model experiments occur in concert during the actual coating process. Adherent deposits (ultra-fine splats, deposits from gel-like precursor and film formed via chemical vapor deposition), unmelted particles (spherical particles, deposits from non-decomposed precursor) and porosity were estimated to constitute 65, 19 and 16 vol%, of the coating, respectively.     

Decreasing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emission from bitumen using alternative bitumen production process

In 1988, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended that bitumen fumes should also be considered a potential occupational carcinogen and management practices such as engineering controls should be implemented. Changing the production process of bitumen, as a source control method, was investigated in our study. For the first time, a novel alternative process was used to produce paving grade bitumen with decreased PAH emissions as well as improved bitumen performance grade (PG). Post-consumer latex and natural bitumen (NB) were used as additives to obtain 60/70 modified bitumen directly from the vacuum bottom (VB) without any need for air-blowing. The emissions were produced by a laboratory fume generation rig and were sampled and analyzed by GC-Mass and GC-FID as described in NIOSH method 5515. The PG of the resulting modified 60/70 bitumen in this study covers a wider range of climatic conditions and has higher total resistance against deformation than conventional 60/70 bitumen. The total PAH emissions from modified 60/70 bitumen (100.2619 ng/g) were decreased approximately to 50% of PAHs emitted from conventional 60/70 bitumen (197.696 ng/g). Therefore, it is possible to obtain modified bitumen with lower PAH emissions and better quality than conventional bitumen via additives and without air-blowing.     

Antireflection coatings on plastics deposited by plasma polymerization process

Antireflection coatings (ARCs) are deposited on the surfaces of optical elements like spectacle lenses to increase light transmission and improve their performance. In the ophthalmic industry, plastic lenses are rapidly displacing glass lenses due to several advantageous features. However, the deposition of ARCs on plastic lenses is a challenging task, because the plastic surface needs treatment for adhesion improvement and surface hardening before depositing the ARC. This surface treatment is usually done in a multi-stage process—exposure to energetic radiations, followed by deposition of a carbonyl hard coating by spin or dip coating processes, UV curing, etc. However, this treatment can also be done by plasma processes. Moreover, the plasma polymerization process allows deposition of optical films at room temperature, essential for plastics. The energetic ions in plasma processes provide similar effects as in ion assisted physical deposition processes to produce hard coatings, without requiring sophisticated ion sources. The plasma polymerization process is more economical than ion-assisted physical vapour deposition processes as regards equipment and source materials and is more cost-effective, enabling the surface treatment and deposition of the ARC in the same deposition system in a single run by varying the system parameters at each step. Since published results of the plasma polymerization processes developed abroad are rather sketchy and the techniques are mostly veiled in commercial secrecy, innovative and indigenous plasma-based techniques have been developed in this work for depositing the complete ARCs on plastic substrates.     

Facile fabrication of stable superhydrophobic films on aluminum substrates

Compact and uniform layered double hydroxides thin films were fabricated on aluminum substrates using a simple solution-immersion process; upon chemical modification with perfluorosilane, the wettability of the aluminum surface changed from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is confirmed that the synergic effect of the surface morphology and the surface free energy contribute to this unique surface water repellence. In addition, the superhydrophobic films possess long-term storage stability and good adhesion strength to aluminum substrates, which enhance their potential practical applications.     

Chemical nature of superhydrophobic aluminum alloy surfaces produced via a one-step process using fluoroalkyl-silane in a base medium

Various surface characterization techniques were used to study the modified surface chemistry of superhydrophobic aluminum alloy surfaces prepared by immersing the substrates in an aqueous solution containing sodium hydroxide and fluoroalkyl-silane (FAS-17) molecules. The creation of a rough micronanostructure on the treated surfaces was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) confirmed the presence of low surface energy functional groups of fluorinated carbon on the superhydrophobic surfaces. IRRAS also revealed the presence of a large number of OH groups on the hydrophilic surfaces. A possible bonding mechanism of the FAS-17 molecules with the aluminum alloy surfaces has been suggested based on the IRRAS and XPS studies. The resulting surfaces demonstrated water contact angles as high as ~166° and contact angle hystereses as low as ~4.5°. A correlation between the contact angle, rms roughnesses, and the chemical nature of the surface has been elucidated.     

常压介质阻挡放电制备芳烃优先透过渗透汽化复合膜

利用常压介质阻挡放电(DBD)等离子体技术,在非对称聚丙烯腈(PAN)超滤膜的表层微孔内接枝填充聚合聚乙二醇甲基丙烯酸酯(PEO360OHMA)大分子单体,制备具有芳烃优先透过性能的渗透汽化复合膜.采用衰减全反射傅里叶红外光谱(ATR-FTIR)、水接触角和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)表征复合膜的形貌和化学结构.以质量比为m(甲苯)∶m(正庚烷)=1∶4的甲苯/正庚烷混合物(80℃)为模型体系,考察了DBD处理时间、输入电压和接枝单体浓度对复合膜的接枝度和渗透汽化分离性能的影响.研究结果表明,常压介质阻挡放电等离子体技术制备的渗透汽化复合膜具有较好的芳烃/烷烃分离性能.     

超疏水SiO2/PS 薄膜于木材表面的构建

通过溶胶-凝胶法一步合成疏水性且具备独特形貌的二氧化硅粒子,联合聚苯乙烯以滴涂的方式于木材表面仿生合成了稳定性超疏水薄膜。经处理后的木材表面与水的静态接触角为153°,滚动角小于5°。通过扫描电子显微镜照片观察到该复合涂层拥有微米/亚微米的二维等级粗糙结构,该结构协同低表面能物质共同决定超疏水性木材的成功制得。此外,进一步研究了超疏水性木材表面的稳定性和耐久性。结果表明,该超疏水性木材于水、腐蚀性液体(酸液/碱液)、常见有机溶剂中以及一些常见条件下仍保留超疏水特性,为未来木材材料的应用领域扩展提供了有利条件。     

Adhesion behavior of plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings on Al-6061 and cast iron substrates

In this work an investigation was carried out on adhesion strength and micro-hardness of plasma sprayed coatings on Al-6061 and cast iron substrate materials. For the adhesion test, ASTM C633, and for the micro hardness, ASTM E384 standards were used. From the results obtained it was found that the main failure locations were in the bond coat-substrate interface, which is considered as adhesion strength. The various parameters affecting adhesion strength are also discussed.     

镁合金超疏水环氧复合涂层的制备与性能EI北大核心CSCD

传统的超疏水表面的制备过程比较复杂,机械稳定性差,这严重制约了超疏水表面的实际应用。采用“黏合剂+纳米粒子”的方法,在镁合金表面制备一种无氟、持久稳定的超疏水环氧复合涂层。接触角测试结果表明,复合涂层的接触角最高可达160.2°,且在3.5%(质量分数)NaCl溶液中浸泡30天后,接触角仍然高达103°;EIS结果表明,在5个加速老化循环周期后,复合涂层的|Z|_(0.01 Hz)仍高于10^(9)Ω·cm^(2),展现出优异的耐盐雾性能和耐蚀性能;摩擦磨损实验结果显示,在19.6 N的载荷下机械摩擦8 h后,复合涂层的|Z|_(0.01 Hz)高达1.84×10^(9)Ω·cm^(2)。通过“空气垫”的屏障作用,复合涂层能够为镁合金提供高效且持久的腐蚀防护,“黏合剂+纳米粒子”策略为超疏水涂层的制备提供了新的思路。     

Fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces on aluminum substrates using NaNO<Subscript>3</Subscript> electrolytes

A superhydrophobic surface with a water contact angle of 166.0° and a tilting angle of 1.5° was fabricated on an aluminum substrate by electrochemical machining using neutral NaNO₃ electrolytes, followed by fluorination. The fabrication process is based on the fact that the grain boundaries and dislocations on aluminum are anodic dissolved before the grain itself by an applied electric field. Using scanning electron microscopy to analyze surface morphology, micrometer scale caves, and protrusions were found on the surface, with numerous nanometer mastoids contained in the protrusions. These binary micro-nano rough structures, which are similar to the micro-structures of a lotus leaf surface, play an important role in achieving superhydrophobicity. The effects of processing time, processing current, and electrolyte concentration on superhydrophobicity were also examined. The results show that electrochemical machining does not require rigid processing parameters, uses a simple device, and is highly efficient and environmental friendly. The optimum processing conditions are a processing time of 60 min, a processing current of 250 mA, and an electrolyte of 0.15 mol/L.     

常压下使用等离子方式分解PFC气体的研究

针对半导体产业中PFC系列的温室气体在其排放前必须进行无害化处理的情况,开发一种常压下用等离子分解处理有害气体的装置,其构造为在一个直立的二重管中使水幕沿管内壁流下,在此水幕围成的空间中发生等离子电弧并通过被处理气体,使气体分解并马上溶入水中。实验中达成300 mm长的等离子电弧,在气体排放量与实际生产条件相同的情况下,分解率高达99%。     

Characterisation of bioactive glass coatings on titanium substrates produced using a CO2 laser

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in load-bearing bioinert implants. Bioactive glasses (BAGs) form a chemical bond with bone, but they are not suitable for load-bearing applications. Creating a BAG coating on a titanium implant could combine the best properties of both materials. The results tend to be poor when conventional firing methods are applied to coat titanium with BAG. A local application of heat to melt the glass can be achieved by a CO2 laser. A new method is introduced to create BAG coatings on titanium locally in a controlled manner, with a focused CO2 laser beam. The coatings produced by this method precipitate calcium phosphate in vitro. Processing parameters (number of coated layers, laser power, and processing atmosphere) providing a firm attachment of the glass and good in vitro bioactivity were identified. XRD analysis showed no crystallisation of the glass due to processing with the laser. EDXA indicated the formation of a calcium phosphate layer, which FTIR suggested to be a hydroxyapatite. The results show CO2 laser processing to be a promising technique for the manufacture of 30-40 microm BAG coatings on titanium.