Characterization and oxidation behavior of NiCoCrAlY coating fabricated by electrophoretic deposition and vacuum heat treatment

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was showed to be a feasible and convenient method to fabricate NiCoCrAlY coatings on nickel based supperalloys. The microstructure and composition of the NiCoCrAlY coatings after vacuum heat treatment were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Isothermal-oxidation test was performed at 1100 °C in static air for 100 h. The results show that the major phases in electrophoretic deposited and vacuum heat treated NiCoCrAlY coating are γ-Ni and γ′-Ni₃Al phases, also there is an extremely small quantity of Al₂O₃ in the coating. Composition fluctuations occur in the coating and a certain amount of titanium diffuse from the superalloy substrate to the top of the coating during vacuum heat treatment. The oxidation test results exhibit that the oxidation kinetics of this coating has two typical stages. The protective oxide layer is mainly formed in the initial linear growth stage and then the oxide layer hinders further oxidation of the coating in the subsequent parabolic growth stage. The coating can effectively protect the superalloy substrate from oxidation. A certain amount of rutile TiO₂ is formed in the coating during oxidation and it is adverse to the oxidation resistance of the coating.     

Preparation of a novel Ni/Co-based alloy gradient coating on surface of the crystallizer copper alloy by laser

A high wear-resistant gradient coating made of Ni/Co-based alloys on the surface of a Cu alloy substrate was synthesized using a YAG laser induced in situ reaction method. The coating consists of three layers: the first is a Ni-based alloy layer, the second and third are Co-based alloy layers. The microhardness increases gradually from 98 HV in the Cu alloy substrate to the highest level of 876 HV in the third layer. The main phase of the Co-based alloy layer is CoCr₂(Ni,O)₄, coexisting with the Fe₁₃Mo₂B₅, Cr(Co(Mo, and FeCr_0.29Ni_0.16C_0.06 phases. Wear tests indicate that the gradient coating has good bond strength and wear properties with a wear coefficient of 0.31 (0.50 for the Cu alloy substrate). Also, the wear loss of the coating is only 0.01 g after it has been abraded for 60 min, which is only one fifth of that of the Cu alloy of the crystallizer. Wear tests of the gradient coating reveal good adhesive friction and wear properties when sliding against steel under dry conditions. This novel technique may have good application to make an advanced coating on the surface of the Cu alloy crystallizer in a continuous casting process.     

The improvement of moisture resistance and thermal stability of Ca3SiO4Cl2:Eu phosphor coated with SiO2

Green-emitting phosphors Ca₃SiO₄Cl₂:Eu²⁺ were prepared by the high temperature solid-state method. Sol-gel process was adopted to encapsulate the as-prepared phosphors with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as silicon coating reagent. Fluorescence spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were employed to characterize the emission spectra, the surface morphologies and the phase structures, respectively. The chemical stability testing was operated by the method of soaking the phosphors in deionized water and roasting them at different temperatures. The results indicated that the surfaces of the green phosphors were evenly coated by SiO₂ and the phase structure of the coated phosphors remained the same as the uncoated samples. The luminance centre of Eu²⁺ did not shift after surface treatment and the luminance intensity of coated phosphors was lower than that of the uncoated samples. The results demonstrated that the water-resistance stability of the coated phosphor was improved to some degree because the pH value and the luminance intensity variation were both smaller than the uncoated phosphor after steeping within the same time. Moreover, the thermal stability of coated phosphors was enhanced obviously compared to the original samples based on the temperature dependent emission spectra measurement.     

Designing N-halamine based antibacterial surface on polymers: Fabrication, characterization, and biocidal functions

We demonstrate a valuable method to generate reactive groups on inert polymer surfaces and bond antibacterial agents for biocidal ability. Polystyrene (PS) surfaces were functionalized by spin coating of sub-monolayer and monolayer films of poly(styrene-b-tert-butyl acrylate) (PS-PtBA) block copolymer from solutions in toluene. PS-PtBA self-assembled to a bilayer structure on PS that contains a surface layer of the PtBA blocks ordering at the air-polymer interface and a bottom layer of the PS blocks entangling with the PS substrate. The thickness of PtBA layer could be linearly controlled by the concentration of the spin coating solution and a 2.5 nm saturated monolayer coverage of PtBA was achieved at 0.35% (w/w). Carboxyl groups were generated by exposing the tert-butyl ester groups of PtBA on saturated surface to trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) to bond tert-butylamine via amide bonds that were further chlorinated to N-halamine with NaOCl solution. The density of N-halamine on the chlorinated surface was calculated to be 1.05 × 10⁻⁵ mol/m² by iodimetric/thiosulfate titration. Presented data showed the N-halamine surface provided powerful antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Over 50% of the chlorine lost after UVA irradiation could be regained upon rechlorination. This design concept can be virtually applied to any inert polymer by choosing appropriate block copolymers and antibacterial agents to attain desirable biocidal activity.     

Waterborne crackle decorative coatings and crack patterns

A preparation method of waterborne crackle decorative coatings was reported in this paper and the factors that influence crack patterns were investigated. The crackle coating consisted of a waterborne basecoat and a waterborne topcoat. The basecoat was made from two-component epoxy emulsion and the topcoat was made from fluorine-containing acrylic emulsion, silicone-acrylic emulsion or styrene-acrylic emulsion. Three junction types of crack patterns were prepared by the three top coatings, which were T-junction, Y-junction and mixed junction. T-junction type with long and straight cracks was prepared from styrene-acrylic emulsion 296DS. Y-junction type with curve and short cracks was prepared from fluorine-containing acrylic emulsion A603C and mixed junctions type was made from silicone-acrylic emulsion. Crack patterns with different spacing were prepared by controlling the thickness of topcoat, dryness of basecoat or conditions of film forming. The characterize methods of type and spacing for crack pattern were developed and properties of coating film including adhesion, water resistance, scrub resistance and so on were tested. The results showed that the crackle coatings possessed satisfactory properties for practical application.     

The effect of heat treatment on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of reactive plasma-sprayed TiN coatings

The effect of heat treatment on the corrosion behavior of reactive plasma sprayed TiN coatings in simulated seawater was investigated by electrochemical methods such as the corrosion potential-time curve (E_corr − t), potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and SEM, etc. The results showed that the corrosion potential of TiN coatings increased after heat treatment; the corrosion current of the TiN coatings after heat treatment (be hereafter referred to as HT-TiN) was 13.3% of the untreated coatings (be hereafter referred to as UT-TiN), and the polarization resistance of HT-TiN was 20 times of UT-TiN, which indicated that the heat treatment had significantly increased the corrosion resistance of the coatings. The corrosion behavior of the coatings was mainly local corrosion, and the local corrosion behavior mainly took place at the microdefects (crack and pores) of the coatings. The porosity of the coatings was reduced after heat treatment. The reason was that TiN reacted with O₂ to form TiO₂ and Ti₃O during the heat treating, and volume expansion took place, which led to denser microstructure. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was therefore increased.     

Coating of Cr-V ledeburitic steel with CrN containing a small addition of Ag

Samples made from Vanadis 6 PM ledeburitic tool steel were surface machined, ground, and mirror polished. They were heat treated and coated with CrN with and without Ag addition by reactive magnetron sputtering. The CrN film grew in a typically columnar manner. A small addition of 3% Ag did not lead to alterations in the growth mechanism. The hardness of the CrN coating was 16.79 ± 1.49 GPa compared to 15.97 ± 1.44 GPa for the coating with Ag addition. The Ag addition in the CrN improved adhesion of the coating, which can be attributed to the capability of CrAgN coating to accommodate higher deformation energy before failure. The CrAgN coating exhibited superior tribological properties at intermediate temperatures. Compared to pure CrN the friction coefficient is lowered to 70-75% when measured at 400 and 500 °C, respectively. This is reflected in a reduction in the volume wear, which was found to be three times lower for the coating containing Ag. Flexural strength decreased slightly for the CrN- or CrAgN-coated material compared to uncoated steel. However, as the decrease in flexural strength is very weak there is practically no risk of significant embrittlement of the investigated material due to the CrN coating with or without Ag addition.     

The influence of compressive stress applied by hard coatings on the power loss of grain oriented electrical steel sheet

To reduce the core loss of electrical steel the vacuum arc ion plating technique has been used to deposit titanium nitride (TiN) layers on highly grain oriented electrical steel sheets. The layer thickness, the stresses of layers and coated sheets and the achieved reduction in core losses have been measured as functions of coating duration and applied bias voltage. Well adhered layers with high compressive stress up to 6.8 GPa have been produced. With increasing bias voltage the layer thickness decreases and the intrinsic stress of the layers increase. A further increase of bias voltage leads to a drop in stress due to thermal relaxation. In general, the tensile stress of the coated sheets rises with increasing layer thickness while the core loss of the coated material decreases with increasing tensile stress of the steel sheet and increasing bias voltage. The highest reduction of core loss has been found to be 28% (from P_1.7=0.86 W/kg for commercially coated HGO electrical steel sheet with glass film to 0.62 W/kg for TiN coated material) and is due to the reduction of excess loss only.     

Ag/C包覆对Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2电化学性能的影响

运用共沉淀和元素化学沉积相结合的方法,制备出了具有Ag/C包覆层的层状富锂固溶体材料Li [Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、恒流充放电、循环伏安(CV),电化学阻抗谱(EIS)和X射线能量散射谱(EDS)方法,研究了Ag/C包覆层对Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni03Co013]O2电化学性能的影响.结果表明,Ag/C包覆层的厚度约为25 nm,Ag/C包覆在保持了固溶体材料α-NaFeO2六方层状晶体结构的前提下,显著地改善了Li[Li0.0Mn054Ni0.13Co013]O2的电化学性能.在2.0-4.8 V (vs Li/Li+)的电压范围内,首次放电(0.05C)容量由242.6 mAh·g-1提高到272.4 mAh·g-1,库仑效率由67.6％升高到77.4％;在0.2C倍率下,30次循环后,Ag/C包覆的电极材料容量为222.6 mAh·g-1,比未包覆电极材料的容量高出14.45％;包覆后的电极材料在1C下的容量仍为0.05C下的81.3％.循环伏安及电化学交流阻抗谱研究表明,Ag/C包覆层抑制了材料在充放电过程中氧的损失,有效降低了Li[Li02Mn0.54Ni0.13Co013]O2颗粒的界面膜电阻与电化学反应电阻.     

涂碳铝箔对磷酸铁锂电池性能影响研究

本文研究了使用涂碳铝箔作为正极集流体磷酸铁锂电池的性能。研究对比了使用普通铝箔和涂层铝箔的10 Ah软包磷酸铁锂电池的主要性能。研究表明:使用涂层铝箔不但可以提高磷酸铁锂材料的粘结性,而且使用导电涂层可以有效降低正极材料和集流体的接触内阻,从而减小电池内阻,提高电池倍率性能。与使用普通铝箔作为集流体相比,通过使用涂碳铝箔可以使得电池的内阻降低65%左右,但是,磷酸铁锂正极材料的克容量却偏低约5~10 mAh·g-1,首次效率也偏低4%左右;在快速放电15C倍率下,使用涂碳铝箔的电芯比使用普通铝箔容量提高约15%左右,10C放电倍率下,平台增加0.3~0.4 V;使用涂碳铝箔电芯的常温自放电率较高,但容量恢复率也较高;550周循环下,使用涂碳铝箔可以使得电池的循环性能提高约1%。而在电池低温性能方面,使用涂碳铝箔对低温性能并无改善。