Semiconductor–Metal Transition in Magnetic Semiconductor Compounds at High Pressure

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics - The magnetic, transport, and magnetotransport properties of ferromagnetic Zn0.1Cd0.9GeAs2 + 10% MnAs and Zn0.1Cd0.9GeAs2 + 15% MnAs nanocomposites...     

Micropotentiometric mapping of local distributions of Zn2+ relevant to corrosion studies

A Zn²⁺-selective microelectrode is developed and adopted for determination of Zn²⁺ in the course of corrosion processes. Details of construction are given, together with a preliminary characterization of the electrode’s properties. Successful application to examples of zinc dissolution, zinc electroplating and corrosion in defects of coated galvanised steel shows the suitability of this microelectrode for materials science and corrosion research.     

Novel Solid‐Contact Ion‐Selective Microelectrodes for Localized Potentiometric Measurements

The design and properties of novel type of solid‐contact ionophore‐based ion‐selective microelectrodes are reported. The microelectrode is based on an insulated needle‐shaped metallic wire with an exposed apex. The ion‐to‐electron transducer is made of poly(3‐octylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) and placed between an ion‐selective membrane and the metallic tip. The ion‐selective polyvinyl chloride‐based membrane is deposited atop the layer of conductive polymer. The length of the ion‐sensitive part of the electrode is less than 10 μm. pH and Mg²⁺‐selective microelectrodes were constructed and tested showing stable potential and fast response that are essential properties for the practical application of microelectrodes for localized scanning measurements.     

Evaporation of Electrolyte during SVET Measurements: The Scale of the Problem and the Solutions

The objective of this work is to investigate the scale of the effect of spontaneous solution evaporation during SVET (Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique) measurements and demonstrate how it biases the final results. When SVET maps are continuously acquired for more than several hours, the measured currents are smaller than expected. This is attributed to solvent (typically water) evaporation which leads to an increase in solution conductivity over time. If this is not considered when converting the measured potential differences into the local current densities, the SVET results display currents smaller than the true ones. Here, this effect is studied with a platinum disk electrode as source of a constant current and a model corroding system consisting of the AA2024/CFRP galvanic couple. Corrective actions are proposed to mitigate the problem, either in the experimental set‐up or as numerical correction.     

“Superpermeability” and “pumping” of atomic hydrogen through palladium membranes

Permeation of atomic as well as molecular hydrogen through palladium membranes has been investigated experimentally in the temperature range from room temperature to 200 °C and at a higher incident flux of hydrogen atoms on palladium surface than in previous studies. The results demonstrate that phenomena of ‘superpermeability’ and ‘pumping’ of atomic gases through metal membranes are of a common nature. A theoretical model based on chemical thermodynamics and diffusion theory adequately describes the quantitative relationships observed in experiments. It was found that permeability of atomic hydrogen depends strongly on the magnitude of surface incident flux and membrane temperature.     

Encapsulation of Al and Ti-Al alloy 1-D nanorods into oxide matrix by powerful pulsed discharge method

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Encapsulated metal nanostructures were prepared using the powerful pulsed discharge method. Metal nanorods were obtained in porous titania and alumina...     

Active protective Al–Ce alloy coating electrodeposited from ionic liquid

The electrochemical co-deposition of Al–Ce metallic protective coating with active inhibiting effect was performed for the first time using an ionic liquid as an electrolyte. Cerium was successfully co-deposited with aluminium on surface of Pt and AA2024 aluminium alloy forming uniform films with globular micro-structure and thickness up to 75 μm.Cerium was introduced into the aluminium coating as a potential corrosion inhibitor which can be liberated during sacrificial dissolution of the galvanic layer deposited on the alloy surface. The released inhibitor provides an additional active corrosion protection slowing down the corrosion processes in the defects.     

Mechanism of corrosion inhibition of AA2024 by rare-earth compounds

The mechanism of corrosion protection of the widely used 2024-T3 aluminum alloy by cerium and lanthanum inhibitors in chloride media is described in detail in the present work. The corrosion process was investigated by means of scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM), in situ atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Employment of the high-resolution and in situ techniques results in a deep understanding of the details of the physical chemistry and mechanisms of the corrosion processes. The applicability of the SKPFM for mechanistic analysis of the effect of different corrosion inhibitors is demonstrated for the first time. The inhibitors under study show sufficient hindering of the localized corrosion processes especially in the case of pitting formation located around the intermetallic S-phase particles. The main role of Ce(3+) and La(3+) in the corrosion protection is formation of hydroxide deposits on S-phase inclusions buffering the local increase of pH, which is responsible for the acceleration of the intermetallics dealloying. The formed hydroxide precipitates can also act as a diffusion barrier hindering the corrosion processes in active zones. Cerium nitrate exhibits higher inhibition efficiency in comparison with lanthanum nitrate. The higher effect in the case of cerium is obtained due to lower solubility of the respective hydroxide. A detailed mechanism of the corrosion process and its inhibition is proposed based on thermodynamic analysis.