Aerosol-assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition Research Articles

Performance Enhancement of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells with Cerium Oxide Interlayers Prepared by Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this study, the performance and durability of a Pt/CeOx catalyst membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and sputtering using aerosols were investigated for use in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The cost burden of Pt-based catalysts and the degradation of performance and durability owing to corrosion of the carbon support under certain conditions limit the commercialization of PEMFCs. To solve these problems, the development of Pt alloy catalysts (Pt–Co, Pt–Ni, and Pt–Fe), Pt-based core–shell catalysts (Pt–TiO2 and Pt–CeO2), Pt bimetallic catalysts (Pt–Pd, Pt–Ru, and Pt–Sn), and Pt-based nanocomposites (Pt/graphene and Pt/carbon nanotubes) is being actively researched. Inserting a CeOx interlayer between Pt and carbon has three advantages: (i) oxygen supply to Pt due to CeOx interlayer’s ability to store oxygen improves catalyst utilization, (ii) improves the dispersibility of Pt, and (iii) solves the problem of performance and durability degradation by preventing the formation of reactive intermediates. For the deposition of ceria, the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition process, which is performed at atmospheric pressure and can be uniformly deposited over a wide area with spray-based precursor delivery characteristics, was applied. The performance and electrochemical surface area of the Pt/CeOx MEA were determined using I–V measurements and cyclic voltammetry, and the durability of the Pt/CeOx MEA was analyzed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and an accelerated degradation test. As a result, when the Pt/CeOx on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) MEA was used, the performance improved by 46% compared to that of Pt on the GDL.

Impact of MW-CNT/polymer composites matrix type on the electrical and gas-sensitive properties

In this paper, polyurethane/MW-CNT, silicone/MW-CNT, and epoxy/MW-CNT nanocomposites were prepared, and their electrical and gas-sensitive properties were investigated. The aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition method was used to synthesize MW-CNTs from acetonitrile as a carbon source. These nanocomposites were prepared by an irreversible dispersion method that was developed by our group. SEM analysis results proved that smooth-surfaced, less defective MW-CNTs with 30–60 nm diameter and 60-50 μm length were synthesized successfully. The electrical conductivity of the prepared nanocomposites reveals the correspondence between the degree of uniformity of distribution of MW-CNTs inside polymers and the electrical conductivity of nanocomposites. The electrical conductivity graphs for Epoxy/x MW-CNTs and PU/x MW-CNTs nanocomposites have the same shape, and there is a sharp increase in electrical conductivity from 4% of MW-CNTs, but the values are different: Epoxy/x MW-CNTs (x = 8%) (1000 S/m) and PU/x MW-CNTs (x = 8%) (24.39 S/m). The electrical conductivity graph of silicone/x MW-CNT has a different shape, and percolation began at 2% of MW-CNT and increased sharply till 4%, then there was observed saturation. These results proved that the nanocomposite’s electrical conductivity properties depend on the polymer matrix nature. Simultaneously, the gas-sensitive properties of these nanocomposites were discovered. Thus, it was determined that the highest resistance change was observed for PVAc/x MW-CNT (x = 4%) nanocomposite under CO gas. Except for PVAl/x-MW-CNT (x = 4%), other nanocomposites show a gas-sensitive effect depending on gas types. Moreover, the resistance of all nanocomposites decreases with increasing temperature (from 20 to 120°C) and their behavior as semiconductors. However, the shapes of the graphs of the resistance depending on temperature are different depending on the nanocomposites, and their values are also different, some of them in the Om, KOm, and MOm ranges.

ZnO/BiOI heterojunction photoanodes with enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation activity

ZnO/BiOI heterojunction photoanode thin films were prepared by aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition, and the impact of growth temperature and film thickness on the water oxidation functionality was systematically investigated. A top ZnO layer with a thickness of 120 nm (deposited at 350 °C) and a 390 nm thick BiOI layer (deposited at 300 °C) were found to achieve the best photoelectrochemical performance of the heterojunction. The ZnO/BiOI heterojunction exhibited a significant increase in photoelectrochemical activity, with a photocurrent of 0.27 mA·cm−2 observed at 1.1 VRHE (350 nm, 2.58 mW·cm−2), which is ~ 2.2 times higher than that of single-layer ZnO and far higher than that of BiOI. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy measurements showed that there was effective charge transfer across the heterojunction which spatially separated charge carriers and increased their lifetime and ability to drive photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Influence of solvent on accelerating deposition time of α-Fe2O3 photoanode via AACVD

The optical and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of semiconductors can be manipulated by varying the deposition time and the solvent used. In this work, the study investigates the influence of organic solvent (methanol and ethanol) on accelerating deposition time for the efficient optical and photoelectrochemical performance of the fabricated α-Fe2O3 thin film photoanode below 10 minutes. The α-Fe2O3 film was fabricated via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). The study discovered that the solvent with high polarity enhanced the crystal growth direction of α-Fe2O3 on the (110) orientation. The UV-vis showed that all deposited α-Fe2O3 films exhibit the absorption band in the visible-light region with the estimated energy bandgap of 2.10 eV. Furthermore, the PEC performance exhibited good photoanodic responses with excellent charge transfer behavior and photostability. These findings show that the choice of solvent could influence the rapid deposition time, thus, would be reliable to accelerate the fabrication process of photoelectrochemical water-splitting photoanode.

One step fabrication of nanostructured nickel thin films on porous nickel foam for drastic electrocatalytic oxygen evolution

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for sustainable hydrogen production through competitive water electrocatalysis. In this work, nanostructured nickel (Ni) thin films deposited on porous nickel foam (NF) substrate are investigated for improved OER catalysis in alkaline medium. The time-dependent fabrication of Ni thin films is achieved via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD), which has shown promising impact on the OER performance. Particularly, the nanoscale Ni@NF electrocatalyst after 60-min of deposition showed outstanding OER properties including minimum overpotential of 285 and 423 mV to reach the current decade (10 mAcm−2) and even higher than 1000 mA/cm2, respectively. The electrode exhibits a small Tafel slope with a value of 70 mV dec−1, a higher TOF, a large electrochemically active surface area, better charge transport performance, and long-term stability over 20 h of continuous operation without significant loss. This OER catalytic activity for pristine Ni electrocatalysts is a significant milestone and is found much better than the benchmark noble metal OER catalysts as well as many other well-known 3D transition metal catalysts. The impressive OER performance is attributed to the synergic effect generated between nanostructured-Ni and porous NF substrate, which enhances the electrical conductivity of the designed catalysts. The low manufacturing cost, robustness, and durability make this catalyst viable in solar energy conversion and storage applications.

Tris(β-ketoiminate) Aluminium(III) Compounds as Aluminium Oxide Precursors.

Precursor design is the crucial step in tailoring the deposition profile towards a multitude of functional materials. Most commercially available aluminium oxide precursors require high processing temperatures (>500 °C). Herein, we report the tuning of the decomposition profile (200-350 °C) of a range of octahedrally coordinated tris(β-ketoiminate) aluminium complexes of the type [Al(MeCN(R)CHC=OMe)3 ], by varying the R substituents in the ligands. The complexes are derived from the reaction of trimethylamine alane (TMAA) and a series of N-substituted β-ketoiminate ligands (R-acnacH, R=Me, Et, i Pr, Ph) with varying R-substituents sizes. When the more sterically encumbered ligand (R=Mes) was used, the Al atom became five-coordinate, therefore representing the threshold to octahedral coordination around the metal in these type of compounds, which, consequently, lead to a change of decomposition profile. The resulting compounds have been characterised by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction. [Al(MeCN(Me)CHC=OMe)3 ] has been used as a single source precursor for the deposition of Al2 O3 . Thin films were deposited via aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD), with toluene as the solvent, and were analysed using SEM, EDX and XPS.

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of ZnGa2O4-β-Ga2O3 thin films

Photocatalytic zinc gallate thin films were fabricated by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). The photocatalytic enhancement of ZnGa2O4-β-Ga2O3 compared with ZnGa2O4 thin films results from heterojunction interface facilitating charge separation.

Nitrogen-phosphorus codoped carbon nanotube sponges for detecting volatile organic compounds: experimental and DFT calculations.

The sensing of harmful gases and vapors is of fundamental interest to control the industrial emissions and environmental contamination. Nitrogen/phosphorus codoped carbon nanotube sponges (NP-CNTSs) were used to detect ethanol, acetone, cyclohexane, isopropanol, and methanol. The NP-CNTSs were produced through the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) method using acetonitrile and triphenylphosphine as precursors at 1020 °C. The sensors based on NP-CNTSs were tested with varying operating temperatures (25-100 °C) and gas vapor concentrations (5-50 ppm). For instance, for a gas vapor concentration of 30 ppm and an operating temperature of 65 °C, the sensors showed changes in the electrical resistance of 1.12%, 1.21%, 1.09%, 2.4%, and 1.34% for ethanol, acetone, cyclohexane, isopropanol, and methanol, respectively. We found that the response and recovery times for isopropanol gas vapor are up to 43.7 s and 95 s, respectively. The current sensor outperformed the sensors reported in the literature by at least two times in the response measurement. Additionally, we performed van der Waals density functional theory calculations to elucidate the role of nitrogen and phosphorous codoped single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and their interaction with the considered gas molecule. We analyzed the molecular adsorption energy, optimized structures, and the density of states and calculated the electrostatic potential surface for N-doped, P-doped, NP-codoped, and OH-functionalized NP-codoped metallic SWCNTs-(6,6) and semiconducting SWCNTs-(10,0). Adsorption energy calculations revealed that in most cases the molecules are adsorbed to carbon nanotubes via physisorption. The codoping in SWCNTs-(6,6) promoted structural changes in the surface nanotube and marked chemisorption for acetone molecules.

Deposition of a high entropy thin film by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition.

Herein we report for the first time the synthesis of a high entropy (CuZnCoInGa)S metal sulfide thin film deposited by AACVD using molecular precursors.

From doping to composites: zirconia (ZrO2) modified hematite photoanodes for water splitting.

Herein, a ZrO2 added α-Fe2O3 photoanode that can split water at low applied potential is reported. First, the pristine hematite α-Fe2O3 photoanode was synthesized using an aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) method followed by modification with various amounts of ZrO2 (2 to 40%) in the form of thin films on conducting glass substrate. The XRD, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses confirmed the presence of the monoclinic phase of ZrO2 in the composites with multifaceted particles of compact morphology. The optical analysis showed an increase in the absorbance and variation in band gap of the composites ascribed to the heterogeneity of the material. The photoelectrochemical studies gave a photocurrent density of 1.23 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE for the pristine hematite and remarkably higher value of 3.06 mA cm-2 for the optimized amount of ZrO2 in the modified α-Fe2O3 photoanode. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest photocurrent reported for a ZrO2 containing photoanode. The optimized composite electrode produced nine times more oxygen than that produced by pristine hematite.

Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) Technique of SrTiO3: B Thin Films and Study the Structural and Optical Properties and Hall Effect Measurements

Aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) technique is very precise implemented to fabrication of structured SrTiO3 and Sr1-xBxTiO3 thin films at doping ratio (x = 2, 4, 6 and 8) % at temperature 400 °C on a glass substrate. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns illustrated that the SrTiO3 and Sr1-xBxTiO3 thin films have a polycrystalline nature and cubic structure, the detailed characterization of the films by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Surface Morphology studied by using (AFM) and (SEM). Have been noticed from AFM measurement the Roughness and RMS were increased with increases doping ratio. The optical properties of SrTiO3 and Sr1-xBxTiO3 thin films have been studied at doping ratio (x = 2, 4, 6 and 8) % at rate (300-900) nm. The transmittance spectrum is characterized by the opposite behavior of the absorbance spectrum. The transmittance generally increases with the increase in the wavelength of radiation, at wavelengths with low energies while the absorbance decreased slowly at spectrum rate (300-900) nm i.e. in the visible region. The band gap (Eg) is decreased at (3.2 - 2.5) eV which indicates that the doping process has led to the emergence of localized levels in the region confined by the valence and conduction bands, led to a reduction in the photon energy required for direct electronic transitions to occur. Found the carriers concentration charge are holes of Sr1-xBxTiO3 thin films at doping ratio (x = 2, 4, 6 and 8) %. Many properties can be improved by adding impurities such as Boron (B) to the SrTiO3, which can be used in solar cells, electronic industries or thermoelectric generators by controlling the optical or structural properties of the material by controlling the materials and percentages of impurity, or through heat treatment of the material, such as annealing, for example or exposure to different temperatures.

Photocatalytic NOx Oxidation of BiOCl Nanostructure-Based Films Grown Using Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

Coating of photocatalytic nanomaterials on various surfaces enables interesting applications. This work demonstrates the ability of the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) approach to prepare high-quality BiOCl nanostructure-based films and also to tune the nanostructure and photocatalytic properties of the films by varying the solvent and carrier gas. Solvents have a dramatic impact on the surface morphologies and crystallite size. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) analyses indicate that BiOCl crystals displayed preferential growth in the (101) plane in most samples, while both the (101) and (102) planes were favored in films deposited using ethyl acetate and methanol. Surface energy and adsorption energy calculation reveal that the preferred growth depends on the interaction between the Bi atom and solvent molecules. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) characterizations showed that all films did not contain any impurity elements but did contain some oxygen vacancies. The obtained nanostructured BiOCl films show good photocatalytic properties. The highest photocatalytic NOx removal efficiency is achieved in the film prepared using ethyl acetate and air, which we attribute to the large crystallite size and therefore high mobility of the carriers. Herein, we show that different crystal morphologies and sizes of BiOCl have strong impacts on the photocatalytic activity toward NO oxidation, and both factors can be effectively tuned in the AACVD process. Such knowledge may be useful for future research on coating materials for resolving environmental problems.

Aerosol-assisted CVD method for the synthesis of solid particles of t-YSZ-Fe3O4

This work details the production of solid composite particles by the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition method. With this method it is feasible to produce at low temperature (450 °C) the tetragonal phase of zirconium oxide stabilizing it with yttrium oxide (YSZ) and cubic iron oxide (Fe3O4) at the same time. The particles have a solid morphology in which both metal oxides coexist without mixing. The average size of the obtained particles is 329 ± 81 nm, moreover, each particle is formed by thousands of crystallites of size 2 ± 0.5 nm. The formation of solid structures is due to the amount of Zr and Y found in each particle. These particles can be applied as reinforcements of metallic structures.•A simple and low-cost method for producing composite particles to be applied as reinforcing agents for metal structures.•The particles are formed by two phases of tetragonal yttria-stabilized zirconia (t-YSZ) and cubic Fe3O4, which was synthesized following a one-step process via the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition method (AACVD).•The tetragonal phase of ZrO2 is obtained at 450 °C stabilizing it with ∼3.8% of yttrium oxide.

AACVD of Cu3N on Al2O3 Using CuCl2 and NH3.

Cu3N has been grown on m-Al2O3 by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition using 0.1 M CuCl2 in CH3CH2OH under an excess of NH3 at 600 °C, which led to the deposition of Cu that was subsequently converted into Cu3N under NH3: O2 at 400 °C in a two-step process without exposure to the ambient. The reaction of CuCl2 with an excess of NH3 did not lead to the growth of Cu3N, which is different to the case of halide vapor phase epitaxy of III-V semiconductors. The Cu3N layers obtained in this way had an anti-ReO3 cubic crystal structure with a lattice constant of 3.8 Å and were found to be persistently n-type, with a room temperature carrier density of n = 2 × 1016 cm-3 and mobility of µn = 32 cm2/Vs. The surface depletion, calculated in the effective mass approximation, was found to extend over ~0.15 µm by considering a surface barrier height of ϕB = 0.4 eV related to the formation of native Cu2O.

Facile synthesis of Ag nanoparticles-decorated WO3 nanorods and their application in O2 sensing

Here we describe a two-step aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) synthesis method for the fabrication of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) decorated WO3 nanorods (NRs), evaluating the use of different organometallic silver precursors. Physical property characterization techniques including XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS were carried out to investigate the composition and morphology of the pristine WO3 NRs and functionalized WO3 NRs with Ag NPs. The results showed that uniform WO3 NRs were obtained with a length of 600 nm to several μm and a diameter of 100–200 nm, and Ag NPs were well-dispersed on the surface of WO3 NRs with the size of 6–20 nm. The nanostructured WO3 thin films were synthesized and integrated directly onto alumina platforms via the AACVD method to fabricate gas sensors. Gas sensing performance was investigated towards different O2 concentrations between 1% and 20% at various operating temperatures. The sensing response revealed that an increase in baseline resistance was observed for the Ag-decorated WO3 sensors fabricated by using organometallic silver precursors, and the decoration of Ag NPs on WO3 sensors improved sensing properties as compared to the undecorated ones. The possible formation process and sensing mechanism of the Ag NPs decorated WO3 NRs are proposed.

Black phosphorus nanodot incorporated tin oxide hollow-spherical heterojunction for enhanced properties of room-temperature gas sensors

The marriage of traditional gas-sensing semiconductors with low dimensional nanostructures is expected to exhibit interesting properties in the detection of hazardous gases. Herein, novel hollow-spherical heterojunctions are assembled for thin film gas sensors by using p-type black phosphorus (BP) and n-type tin oxide (SnO2). Green synthesis strategies are employed to prepare BP nanodots and SnO2 quantum dots. The aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition is used to prepare thin films with hollow-spherical heterojunctions. The BP incorporation significantly improves the gas-sensing properties of SnO2-based thin films, which demonstrate excellent response and repeatability to H2S at room temperature. The BP-SnO2 heterojunction demonstrates more than twice the response and sensitivity of pristine SnO2 thin film. Moreover, the recovery ability is significantly improved and LOD is decreased to 50 ppb. The hollow-spherical heterojunction has a joint gas-sensing mechanism contributed by both of SnO2 and BP. The SnO2 provides fundamental receptor function for gas detection while incorporated BP facilitates the adsorption of target H2S and provides additional electrons through the p-n junction tunnel. In addition, a slight negative dependence on humidity is observed for the gas sensor. It is ascribed to the competitive adsorption of water molecules on the BP-SnO2 heterojunction surface against H2S molecules and chemisorbed oxygen. This work not only proposes novel heterojunction nanostructures for room-temperature gas detection, but also contributes to the functional integration of traditional gas-sensitive materials and emerging 2D materials in sensor technology.

Studying the effects of processing parameters in the aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition of TiO2 coatings on glass for applications in photocatalytic NOx remediation

Herein, we employ an aerosol-assisted method (AA-CVD) to produce TiO2 on window glass and study how the process parameters affect their photocatalytic activity towards NOx (NO + NO2) remediation. A range of process parameters are explored to produce 50 unique TiO2 coatings with wide ranging physicochemical properties. The physicochemical properties were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible transmission spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS), and the photocatalytic activity towards NO gas was measured using protocol akin to the ISO (22197-1:2016). The most active sample showed an NO removal of ∼14.4 ± 1.7 % and NOx removal of ∼5.4 ± 0.77 %, which was ∼40 and ∼25 times higher than that of a commercially available self-cleaning window. The links between the process parameters, physicochemical properties and photocatalytic activity were studied in depth, where it was seen that the three most influential physicochemical properties on the observed activity were surface roughness, charge carrier population and charge carrier lifetime. Therefore, we recommend that these properties be targeted in the rational design of more active coatings for applications in photocatalytic NOx remediation.

Effect of substrate temperature on structural, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of Tl2S thin films fabricated using AACVD technique

Abstract Thin films of thallium sulphide (Tl2S) were grown on the FTO surface at three different temperatures (500°C, 550°C, and 600°C) using the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition approach. A thallium diethyldithiocarbamate (Tl[CNS2(C2H5)3]) complex was used as a single-source precursor in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent under an inert atmosphere of argon in all deposition experiments. The impact of deposition temperature on structural, morphological, and optical properties of Tl2S thin films was explored using different experimental techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron (FESEM) microscopy, and UV-visible spectrophotometry. XRD analysis specifies that crystallite size varies from 120 to 90 nm with the increase in temperature from 500°C to 600°C. FESEM results revealed that Tl2S films were grown as hexagonal, petals, and marigold flower-like particles at 500°C, 550°C, and 600°C, respectively. UV-visible spectrophotometric analysis shows a decrease in band gap energies with temperature: 1.92 eV at 500°C, 1.72 eV at 550°C, and 1.42 eV at 600°C. The photoelectrochemical measurement in terms of linear sweep voltammetry confirms that the temperature variation has a significant effect on the photoconversion efficiency of Tl2S thin films, and photocurrent density increases from 0.56 to 0.76 mA·cm−2 when the temperature is increased from 500°C to 600°C.

Phosphorus and nitrogen codoped entangled carbon nanotubes forming spongy materials: Synthesis and characterization

Carbon sponges are of great interest of the scientific community given their potential in advanced applications such as water cleaning, catalysis, energy storage, and mechanical reinforcement. These carbon nanomaterials improve their attributes for unexpected properties and applications by doping with foreign atoms. Nitrogen‑phosphorus-codoped and functionalized carbon nanotube sponges (NP-CNTSs) were synthesized, using the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) method. We used acetonitrile and triphenylphosphine (TPP) as nitrogen and phosphorus precursors. According to our results, the NP-CNTSs were formed by entangled multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of diameters ranging between 60 and 300 nm with Fe2P and Fe3C nanoparticles in the walls and inside the carbon nanotube sponges (CNTSs) respectively. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) characterization revealed the vibrational modes of aromatic and aliphatic CH, PO, PH, and OCN bonds. The NP-CNTSs undergo a quasi-reversible hydroquinone/quinone redox process as revealed by cyclic voltammetry studies. They also efficiently retain organic solvents, absorbing up to 40 times their weight for dichlorobenzene. The XPS and Raman characterizations show the presence of pyridinic nitrogen, which might be responsible for the formation of cavities in the wall of the CNTSs and the entanglement of carbon nanotubes, which promotes the growth of the NP-CNTSs. To study the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in the electronic properties of carbon materials, we carried out calculations proposed in the density functional theory (DFT) for phosphorus‑nitrogen codoping bilayer graphene and carbon nanotube junctions containing pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonal carbon rings.

Robust Transparent Titanium Dioxide Coating Based on the AACVD Process for Anticorrosion Marine Exploration.

Transparent and robust titanium dioxide (TiO2) coatings were prepared by the facile aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) method. The effects of deposition temperature and precursor concentration on the crystal growth and optical properties of TiO2 coating were investigated. It is found that the obtained TiO2 coating has strong adhesion to the substrate, which can effectively avoid mechanical scratches and wear by sharp objects, adhesive tape and steel wool. Besides, in the marine corrosion protection test, both the open circuit potential and electrochemical impedance of TiO2 coating immersed in artificial seawater for different times are greater than those of the bare S420 steel substrate. Particularly, the high-frequency phase angle of the TiO2 coating increases, and the impedance value at low frequency of 0.10 Hz is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the bare S420 substrate. In addition, the significant decrease of corrosion products on the surface further proves that the deposited TiO2 coating exhibits better corrosion inhibition and excellent anticorrosion properties, which is expected in application of the surface coating protection of the marine exploration lens.