Structure and properties of electrodeposited Ni–Co–YZA composite coatings

The aim is to develop an economical composite coating with high thermal stability. Ni–Co alloys are found to possess better thermal, physical and mechanical properties compared to Ni. Also, oxide particles as distributed phase can impart better thermal stability. Hence, particulates of composite Yttria stabilised zirconia, a commonly used high temperature material and alumina (YZA) were reinforced in various Ni–Co alloy matrices through electrodeposition. The influence of YZA on the microhardness, tribology and corrosion behaviour of Ni–Co alloys with Co contents of 0 wt.%, 17 wt.%, 38 wt.% and 85 wt.% was evaluated. Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirmed the presence of YZA particles and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX) revealed the composition. Tribology testing showed that composite containing 38 wt.% Co displayed better wear resistance. It was found from the immersion corrosion studies that Ni–17Co–YZA coating displayed improved corrosion resistance. Thermal stability studies showed that Ni–85Co–YZA coating retained its microhardness at temperatures of 600 °C. Thus, these coatings can be tailored for various applications by varying the cobalt content.     

Effect of plating parameters on the properties of pulse electrodeposited Ni–TiN thin films

The influence of pulse plating parameters on the microstructure, microhardness, and properties of the Ni–TiN thin films was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X–ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and corrosion and wear tests. The results indicated the Ni–TiN thin films prepared via electrodeposition at 4 A/dm² current density to show an optimum microhardness and TiN content values of 984.7 HV and 8.69 wt%, respectively. The average grain sizes of Ni and TiN in the films obtained at 200 Hz were 127.8 and 48.5 nm, respectively. Numerous large pores can be noticed in the films prepared at pulse frequencies of 200 Hz and 500 Hz, whereas only a few small pits are visible on the surface of the Ni–TiN thin films deposited at 800 Hz. The films prepared at 20% duty cycle experienced the least weight loss.     

Influences of heat-treatment on the microstructure and properties of silica–titania composite aerogels

Silica–titania composite aerogels were synthesized via ambient pressure drying by using water glass and titanium tetrachloride as raw materials. The influences of heat-treatment at different temperature with different heating rate on the microstructure and properties of the composite aerogels were investigated by differential thermal analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope analysis. The results indicate that the silica–titania composite aerogels heat-treated at 250 °C exhibited highest specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter. When the heat-treatment temperature was higher than 450 °C, the –CH₃ groups on the surface of silica–titania composite aerogels would transform into –OH groups gradually, and in the meantime, the composite aerogels network structure would be destroyed gradually and the crystallinity of TiO₂ would be improved with the increase of heat-treatment temperature. Particularly, heat-treatment at temperatures above 750 °C would cause serious damage to the network structure of the composite aerogels. The adsorption/photocatalytic activity experiments showed that the composite aerogels heat-treated at 550 °C exhibit highest darkroom adsorption efficiency, and the 650 °C-heat-treated samples exhibited highest efficiency for removing the Rhodamine B from water.     

The effect of the surface nanostructure and composition on the antiwear properties of zirconia–titania coatings

This study describes the preparation, surface imaging and tribological properties of titania coatings modified by zirconia nanoparticles agglomerated in the form of island-like structures on the titania surface. Titania coatings and titania coatings with embedded zirconia nanoparticles were prepared by the sol–gel spin coating process on silicon wafers. After deposition the coatings were heat-treated at 500 °C or 1000 °C. The natural tendency of nanoparticles to form agglomerates was used to build separated island-like structures unevenly distributed over the titania surface having the size of 1.0–1.2 μm. Surface characterization of coatings before and after frictional tests was performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy. Zirconia nanoparticles were imaged with the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The tribological properties were evaluated with the use of microtribometer operating in ambient air at technical dry friction conditions under normal load of 80 mN. It was found that nanocomposite coatings exhibit lower coefficient of friction (CoF) and considerably lower wear compared to titania coating without nanoparticles. The lowering of CoF is about 40% for coatings heated at 500 °C and 33% for the coatings heated at 1000 °C. For nanocomposites the wear stability was enhanced by a factor of 100 as compared to pure titania coatings. We claim that enhanced tribological properties are closely related to the reduction of the real contact area, lowering of the adhesive forces in frictional contacts and increasing of the composite hardness. The changes in materials composition in frictional contact has secondary effect.     

The application of Langmuir–Blodgett technique in preparation of the macroporous titania coatings

The aim of this work was preparation of the macroporous titania coatings with the use of the sol–gel process and poly(methylmetacrylate) beads as a template. The effectiveness of the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) and dip-coating (DC) methods in deposition of polymer beads on the silicon wafers was compared. Resulted polymer layers and final porous titania coatings were analyzed with the use of the atomic force microscope. It was found, that application of the LB is possible only when arachidic acid is present in the subphase. It should be highlighted, that the application of the LB method is the novelty between the methods of the polymer beads arrangement having the diameter of 200–300 nm. Main factors which influence the structure and the arrangement of polymer templates were the concentration of the polymer suspension and the rate of the substrate immersion/withdrawal from the suspension. We established, that the optimal concentrations for preparation of polymer templates, exhibiting good arrangement of individual beads, were 0.5 and 6 % for LB and DC methods, respectively. The size of pores of the obtained macroporous titania (200–330 nm) corresponds well with the size of the polymer beads used as the template (200–235 nm).     

Influence of titania content on mechanosynthesis of chlorapatite–titania composite nanopowders

The effect of titania content on mechanochemical synthesis of chlorapatite–titania composite nanopowders was studied for the first time. According to the obtained data, the phase compositions, structural features as well as morphological characteristics of the composites were influenced by the titania content. In the presence of 3–5 wt% titania, milling for 5 h resulted in the formation of chlorapatite–titania composite nanopowders. The crystallite size of the samples was around 25±1 and 23±1 nm in the presence of 3 and 5 wt% titania, respectively. With increasing the titania content to 7 wt%, no chemical reaction happened during the milling. The composite nanopowders showed high volume fraction of grain boundaries. Based on the FT-IR results, the products had high chemical purity which is very important in biomedical applications. The TEM images indicated that the composite nanopowder was composed of spheroidal particles with a mean size of around 35 nm. The proposed synthesis strategy provides a facile pathway to obtain novel chlorapatite-based composite nanopowders with high purity and optimal properties.     

Effect of two-step sintering on microstructure and mechanical properties of ceria-stabilized zirconia-toughened alumina-added titania (CSZTA–TiO2)

Effect of two-step sintering (TSS) on microstructure and mechanical properties of ceria-stabilized zirconia-toughened alumina with added TiO₂ (CSZTA–TiO₂) was studied. A coprecipitation technique was used to produce the CSZTA–TiO₂ powders. The synthesized powders were compacted using a uniaxial hydraulic press and conventionally sintered in air. The phase and microstructure of sintered samples were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Phases were quantified using the Rietveld refinement method. Different TSS schedules were followed to optimize microstructure and mechanical properties. Mechanical properties of the CSZTA-4TiO₂ composite were evaluated and found as follows: Vickers's hardness of 1650 ± 9.6 HV10, indentation fracture toughness of 8.45 ± .14 MPa √m, compressive strength of 2088 MPa, and Young's modulus of 158 GPa.     

The influence of preparation method on the physicochemical properties of titania–silica aerogels: Part two

Titania–silica aerogels with different titania content were prepared. Four preparation methods differing mainly in approach to precursors hydrolysis were applied, while only three of them allowed total hydrolysis of silica precursor before titania precursor was added. The preparation of mixed products of titania and silica hydrolysis precursors containing gels was followed by high temperature supercritical drying (HTSCD) and thermal treatment at 500 °C. Obtained mixed oxides in form of aerogels were characterized by BET surface areas up to 1000 m²/g, mesopore volumes up to 1.6 cm³/g and bulk densities as low as 0.04 g/cm³. Even 18 h lasting aging did not allow to produce narrow diameter range mesoporous materials, their broad pore diameter distributions resulted in average pore sizes varying from 10 to nearly 30 nm. XRD measurements proved the presence of anatase crystalline form of titania, while silica was present in amorphous form. SEM studies indicated presence of isolated titania particles on titania–silica surface while joint hydrolysis method was applied. Titania–silica aerogels obtained by the simultaneous hydrolysis of precursors and the impregnation method showed high photocatalytic activity in degradation of salicylic acid in water. Activities of these mesoporous photocatalysts were higher than commercial P25 Degussa TiO₂. Comparison of activity of pure TiO₂ (P25 Degussa) and aerogels indicates higher utilization of titania present in mesoporous mixed oxides.     

Effect of Si content on the microstructure and properties of Ti–Si–C composite coatings prepared by reactive plasma spraying

In this study, Ti–Si–C composite coatings were synthesized via plasma spraying of agglomerated powders prepared by a spray drying/precursor pyrolysis technology using Ti, Si, and sucrose powders. The influence of Si content, ranging from 0 wt% to 24 wt%, on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and oxidation resistance of the composite coatings was investigated. Results show that the phase composition of the Ti–Si–C composite coatings changes with the increasing Si content. The coatings without Si addition consist of TiC and Ti₃O; the coatings with 6–18 wt% Si are composed of TiC, Ti₅Si₃, and Ti₃O; the coatings with Si content of 24 wt% form only TiC and Ti₅Si₃ phases. As the Si content increases, the hardness of the Ti–Si–C composite coatings increases first and then decreases, depending on the intrinsic hardness of the ceramic phases, the brittleness of Ti₅Si₃, and the defects such as pores and cracks. The Ti–Si–C composite coatings have high wear resistance due to the in-situ synthesized high-hardness TiC and Ti₅Si₃. Owing to the high brittleness of Ti₅Si₃, the increasing Si content leads to higher wear volume loss at room temperature, which can be partially improved in high-temperature wear tests. The oxidation resistance of Ti–Si–C composite coatings increases with the increase of Si content, and the higher the oxidation temperature, the more obvious the influence of the Si addition on oxidation resistance.     

Effect of trimethylamine borane (TMAB) bath concentration on electrodeposited Ni–B/TiC nanocomposite coatings

In this study, stainless steel material was coated with Ni–B alloy-based, TiC particle reinforced composite film using electrochemical deposition method. The properties of the obtained Ni–B/TiC nanocomposite coatings were investigated in terms of the effect of trimethylamine borane (TMAB) bath concentration, which is a boron source. In addition, the data of pure Ni, Ni–B alloy and stainless steel are presented together for comparison. According to the cyclic voltammogram (CV) analysis, it is seen that TMAB contributes to increasing the deposition rate. In the crystal structure analysis, the effect of TMAB was weaker at low TiC bath concentrations, while the effect of TMAB was more dominant at high TiC bath contents. The crystal grain size values of nanocomposite coatings vary between 5.8 and 16.8 nm, and these values decrease up to 86% when compared to the crystal grain size of the pure Ni coating. Although the increase in TMAB initially causes an increase in the microhardness of nanocomposite coatings, when the TMAB value was further increased, it was observed that the microhardness decreased even more compared to the previous initial value. The highest hardness value was obtained in the sample produced at 5 g/l TiC and 6 g/l TMAB bath contents, and this value was 817 HV. Compared to this value, it was observed that the hardness of pure Ni was 65% lower. It was observed that TMAB did not have significant effect on the coating morphology, but the increase in TMAB caused an increase B content and a decrease in the TiC content in the nanocomposite coating. Furthermore, it was revealed that the increase in TMAB bath concentration caused an improvement on corrosion resistance. The corrosion current of the composite sample with 9 g/l TMAB concentration, which showed the best corrosion performance, decreased by 85% compared to pure nickel.     

Effect of the processing on the production of cordierite–mullite composite

In this study, effect of process on the production of cordierite–mullite composite was studied. For this reason two different processing methods were used in the production of cordierite–mullite composites. In first process, in situ cordierite–mullite composites were produced from cordierite and mullite layers which were formed by using aqueous tape casting method. In second one, composite was produced by addition of pre-produced mullite powders (in different weight percents, 0–30) into cordierite starting powders. The results show that the addition of pre-sintered mullite powders to the cordierite slip has more effect on densification behavior and mechanical properties of composites than layered production method.     

Effect of Ni content on the microstructure,mechanical properties and erosive wear of Mo2NiB2–Ni cermets

This work revealed the effects of Ni content on the microstructure, mechanical properties and erosive wear of Mo₂NiB₂–Ni cermets. Four groups of Mo₂NiB₂–Ni cermets with different Ni contents were fabricated by reaction boronizing sintering in this study, and their mechanical properties were tested. The results show that the microstructure of the cermets can be obviously refined with the Ni/B increasing from 0.9 to 1.2, and the cermets of Ni/B 1.1 have the best mechanical properties (hardness HRA 90.3 and fracture toughness 24.3 MPa m^1/2). Moreover, under high-speed slurry (artificial seawater mixed with SiO₂ sand) erosive wear, the cermets of Ni/B 0.9 and 1.0 indicate high wear rate with the aggravated eroded surfaces. However, the cermets of Ni/B 1.1 achieve the minimum wear rate with relatively complete eroded surface, which is attributed to the interaction of Mo₂NiB₂ hard phase and Ni binder phase with appropriate ratio of two phases.     

Effect of activation temperature on the surface copper particles and catalytic properties of Cu–Ni–Mg–Al oxides from hydrotalcite-like precursors

The Cu–Ni–Mg–Al oxides catalysts for furfural hydrogenation were prepared from the hydrotalcite-like precursors, and the effect of activation temperature on the Cu⁰ particles and catalytic properties of the catalyst was thoroughly investigated. The catalyst activated by H₂ at 300 °C was found to exhibit the best catalytic activity, due to the presence of the smallest Cu⁰ particles with a high dispersion. Moreover, the bigger Cu⁰ particles were active for furfuralcohol hydrogenolysis to 2-methylfuran in the liquid-phase (ethanolic solution), and the hydrogenation of the furan ring of furfuralcohol and 2-methylfuran on Cu⁰ particles was easily achieved in the vapour-phase.     

Properties of electrodeposited silver–cobalt coatings

Silver–cobalt coatings were elecrodeposited from cyanide–pyrophosphate electrolytes with and without additives (diammonium oxalate monohydrate and 2-Butyne-1,4-diol). The deposition rate, the alloy composition, as well as some physicomechanical (internal stress, microhardness, plug-in forces, abrasion resistance) and electrical properties (contact resistance, magnetoresistance) of the obtained coatings, depending upon the applied current density or the cobalt content, respectively, were investigated. The increase in current density led to the increase in the Co content of the coatings and to a decrease in the grain size of both silver and cobalt phases. Granular structural type of deposits with a magnetoresistance of about 4% ratio was shown. The tensile stress observed in pure Ag deposits increased in the presence of Co and with an increase in its content in the alloy. The increase in the microhardness, abrasion resistance and electrical resistance of the Ag–Co coatings depended almost linearly on the Co content. The performed high speed electroplating showed significant increase in the deposition rate and smoothness of the coatings.     

The effect of heat treatment conditions on the textural and catalytic properties of nickel–titania composite aerogel catalysts

Highly dispersed nickel–titania composite aerogel catalysts have been prepared by CO₂ supercritical drying of alcogels obtained by the sol–gel process. The effect of heat treatment conditions on the textural and structural properties of the resulting aerogels was investigated by nitrogen adsorption–desorption, TG/DTA, XRD and TEM. The nickel–titania composite aerogel calcined and reduced under carefully controlled conditions exhibited an excellent catalytic performance for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of benzophenone to benzhydrol.     

Assessment of hydrophobic and anticorrosion properties of composite silane–zeolite coatings on aluminum substrate

The effect of matrix compounds on the behavior of silane–zeolite composite coatings on a 6061 aluminum alloy was evaluated by electrochemical test performed at long immersion time in 3.5% NaCl solution. It was observed that silane chains influence the hydrophobic behavior and the electrochemical performances of the zeolite-based composite coating. All composite coatings showed a long-term protection action in 3.5% NaCl solution. The use of silane compounds with long alkyl chain or with bi-hydroxyl groups made it possible to obtain electrochemically stable coating during long immersion time. Best results have been obtained with a multicomponent silane mixture (short and long molecular chains).     

Electro-deposition and characterizations of nickel coatings on the carbon–polythene composite

Nickel coating on the carbon–polythene composite plate was prepared by electrodeposition in a nickel sulfate solution in this work. The morphology and cross-sectional microstructure of the nickel coating were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM), respectively. The influence of bath temperature on the nickel deposition rate was investigated experimentally. The adhesion between the coating and the substrate was evaluated by the pull-off test. The corrosion behavior of the coating in an aqueous solution of NaCl was studied by electrochemical methods. The results showed that the nickel electrodeposition rate could reach up to 0.68 μm min⁻¹ on average under conditions of cathodic current density of 20 mA cm⁻² and bath temperature of 60 °C. It was confirmed that increasing the bath temperature up to 50 °C had a positive effect on the nickel deposit rate, while an adverse effect was observed beyond 60 °C. The adhesion strength between the nickel coating and the substrate can be more than 2.3 MPa. The corrosion potential of the bright coating in the NaCl solution was more positive than that of the dull coating, and the anodic dissolution rate of the bright coating was also far lower at the same polarization potential compared with the dull coating.     

Effect of spray process on dielectric properties of APS-deposited CaO–B2O3–SiO2 glass-ceramic coatings

Low-dielectric properties are highly desirable for successful realization of thermal spray coatings in electromagnetic wave absorption. Herein, CaO–B₂O₃–SiO₂ (CBS) glass-ceramic coatings are prepared via high-enthalpy atmospheric plasma spraying (HE-APS) method, and the influence of spraying power on physical and dielectric properties of APS-deposited CBS coatings is systematically investigated. Under high-power conditions, the increase in liquid phase hinders the discharge of gases and leads to an increase in the porosity of CBS coatings. The experimental results reveal that the coating density decreases and coating porosity increases with the increase of spraying power. Based on the crystallization behavior of CBS coatings, an excellent low-dielectric crystalline phase (β-CaSiO₃) was obtained after heat treatment at 800 °C. According to the dielectric mixing rule of composite materials, the density and permittivity exhibit the same trend and a minimum permittivity of 5.74 is obtained.     

Effect of TiO2 addition on the sintering densification and mechanical properties of MgAl2O4–CaAl4O7–CaAl12O19 composite

Materials designed in the high-alumina region of Al₂O₃–MgO–CaO system have been widely used in many technological fields. However, their further applications are limited by the high sintering temperatures necessary to achieve densification due to the poor sintering ability of calcium hexaluminate (CaAl₁₂O₁₉) and spinel (MgAl₂O₄). Considering this aspect, the present work investigated the effect of TiO₂ addition on the sintering densification and mechanical properties of MgAl₂O₄–CaAl₄O₇–CaAl₁₂O₁₉ composite by solid state reaction sintering. The results showed that the CA₆ grains presented a more equiaxed morphology instead of platelet structure by incorporating Ti⁴⁺ into its structure, which greatly improved the densification after heating at 1600 °C. The flexural strength was greatly enhanced with increasing addition of TiO₂ due to the significant decrease in porosity and improvement in uniformity of grain size as well as the absence of microcracks in the presence of Al₂TiO₅. The increased content of TiO₂ also played an active role in toughening this composite attributed to the increase in resistance to crack initiation and propagation.