Effect Of Metal Substrate Research Articles

Investigation of microstructural, micromorphology, and surface plasmon resonance characteristics in Ni/Al, Ni/Cu, and Ni/SS thin films.

As the first boundary between the environment and the material, the surface plays an important role in their interaction with each other, therefore, the use of appropriate tools and analysis to examine the mechanical properties and morphology of surfaces has particular importance in industry and research. In this research, a thin film of nickel was deposited on metal substrates made of aluminum, copper, and steel by using the RF magnetic cathode. Then, using a non-contact atomic force microscope, the morphological properties of the nickel film with static parameters, Minkowski functionals (MF's), fractal, and multifractal were extracted to be analyzed and studied. After that, using parameters such as root mean square (RMS) roughness, skewness, and kurtosis, it was determined how the surface roughness, distribution, and probability density of particles on the film surface alters with the change of the substrate. Next, by examining and analyzing the Δα and Δf parameters obtained from the multifractal section, the morphology of the produced film on the metal substrates was investigated. Then, the change in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak position is changed for the prepared film in the range of the absorption spectrum due to the substrate effect and the microstructural properties of the formed film. HIGHLIGHTS: Ni film has been deposited by Rf magnetron sputtering. The effect of metal substrates on the topography, fractality, and optical properties was studied. Minkowski functionals were used to investigate the surface morphology of the samples. Substrate's material and the topography of the formed film can changed the surface plasmon resonance position.

Effect of metallic substrates and cavities on emission kinetics of dye-doped polymeric films

We have studied emission kinetics in dye-doped polymeric films (HITC:PMMA), deposited on top of glass and silver and embedded in Fabry–Perot cavities (metal-insulator-metal waveguides). For highly doped films on glass, we observed strong concentration quenching, as evidenced by a dramatic shortening of the emission kinetics, consistent with our previous studies. However, for the same dye-doped films on top of silver, slower emission kinetics were observed despite the high decay rates of individual dye molecules near the metallic surface. The concentration quenching rates in Fabry–Perot cavities were nearly identical to those of HITC:PMMA films deposited on top of silver. These findings are explained within a theoretical model for the inhibition of Förster energy transfer near a metallic surface. Furthermore, the emission kinetics of the dye-doped films on top of silver were approximately single exponential—consistent with the strong coupling of excited molecules with propagating surface plasmons.

Study on Sol–Gel Synthesized IN800 Thermal Barrier Coatings Subjected to Thermal Cyclic Loading: Effect of Metallic Substrates

In this work, the effect of sol–gel deposited top-coat on thermal fatigue resistance of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) subjected to thermal fatigue loading is evaluated experimentally. To obtain non-conventional sol–gel thermal barrier coatings (SGTBC), coated samples underwent thermal fatigue loading at 1100 °C for 10 min heating and cooling. The tested sol–gel thermal barrier coatings were then compared to conventional air plasma sprayed (APS) thermal barrier coatings as well. The life of samples was investigated as a function of number of sustaining thermal cycles to times. Furthermore, the performed experiment was analyzed using scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer. The obtained results indicated that the non-conventional sol–gel thermal barrier coatings exhibited 1.46 times better thermal fatigue life in IN800SGTBC against 1.31 times thermal fatigue life of IN718SGTBC but overall thermal fatigue life was found to be better in IN718 SGTBC, signified effects of metallic substrates in thermal fatigue life determination. However, the nanostructured SGTBC had higher thermal cyclic resistance than conventional APS TBC, resulted in improved lifetime indicating the increased adherence at the substrate interface. Results also showed that the dominant failure mechanism of TBCs was destabilization of top-coat (YSZ), resulting composition of (Al, Cr)2O3 and spinel as reaction products for depleting Y2O3 producing from yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Furthermore, the results showed that the amount of the porosity percent in the sol–gel TBCs was 2.3% higher than the conventional TBCs. Figure: Material Processing, and thereafter testing analysis for present work.

Effect of Metal Substrate on Photo(electro)catalytic Activity of B-Doped Graphene Modified TiO2 Thin Films: Role of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles at Grain Boundaries of TiO2

TiO2 thin films deposited on stainless steel (SS) substrates exhibit low photocatalytic (PC) activity when calcined above 350 °C. The cause is the presence of Fe3+ into the film due to its diffusion from SS to the surface during the calcination process. Over the past two decades, most researchers accepted the idea that Fe3+ acts as recombination center of photogenerated electrons and holes, although the role of Fe3+ has not been studied. To understand the effect of Fe3+ on the PC and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activity of TiO2 films, boron-doped graphene-modified TiO2 (BTG) films supported on SS and Ti were prepared by a sol–gel method. The surface of BTG films was characterized by GIXRD, FESEM, XPS, voltammetry, and Mott–Schottky analysis. Photo(electro)chemical properties of BTG films were investigated by open-circuit potential measurements, photovoltammetry, and photocurrent transients, while their PC and PEC activities were evaluated using phenol degradation under ultraviolet irradiation. In addition...

Reversibility of electrochemical magnesium deposition from tetrahydrofuran solutions containing pyrrolidinyl magnesium halide

In this paper we reported for the first time the electrochemical behavior of pyrrolidinyl magnesium halide (C4H8NMgX, X=Br and Cl) dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) with regard to potential application as electrolytes for rechargeable magnesium batteries. C4H8NMgX/THF solutions were characterized in term of conductivity, anodic stability, and reversibility of magnesium deposition and dissolution. Furthermore, the effect of metal substrates on magnesium deposition process was studied. Simple preparation, high cycling reversibility and moderate anodic stability of C4H8NMgBr/THF solution indicate the feasible application as the electrolyte for rechargeable magnesium batteries.

Top-illuminated dye-sensitized solar cells with a room-temperature-processed ZnO photoanode on metal substrates and a Pt-coated Ga-doped ZnO counter electrode

We report on top-illuminated, fluorine tin oxide/indium tin oxide-free (FTO/ITO-free), dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using room-temperature-processed ZnO layers on metal substrates as the working electrodes and Pt-coated Ga-doped ZnO layers (GZO) as the counter electrodes. These top-illuminated DSCs with GZO render comparable efficiency to those employing commercial FTO counter electrodes. Despite a lower current density, the top-illuminated DSCs result in a higher fill factor than conventional DSCs due to a low ohmic loss at the electrode/semiconductor interface. The effect of metal substrate on the performance of the resulting top-illuminated DSCs is also studied by employing various metals with different work functions. Ti is shown to be a suitable metal to be used as the working electrode in the top-illuminated device architecture owing to its low ohmic loss at the electrode/semiconductor interface, minimum catalytic activity on redox reactions and high resistance to corrosion by liquid electrolytes.

Study of Key Factors Influencing Electrochemical Reversibility of Magnesium Deposition and Dissolution

The electrochemical magnesium deposition and dissolution on metal substrates with high cycling efficiency can be realized in both organic electrolyte and ionic liquid . The effect of metal substrates (Ag, Ni, and Cu) on magnesium deposition–dissolution was studied by cyclic voltammograms and charge–discharge tests of coin cells, and better results were obtained using silver as the substrate in both the electrolytes. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the deposited magnesium can react with silver substrate to form silver–magnesium alloy, which decreases the overpotential of electrochemical magnesium deposition–dissolution and promotes the cycling efficiency. It was observed that morphology of magnesium deposit and interfacial impedance developed from the above-mentioned electrolytes varied markedly, leading to different electrode performances such as overpotential in the initial cycles and cycle life.

Corrosion protection of metals by water-based silane mixtures of bis-[trimethoxysilylpropyl]amine and vinyltriacetoxysilane

A silane surface treatment based on the water soluble mixtures of bis-[trimethoxysilylpropyl]amine and vinyltriacetoxysilane has been developed with the aim of replacing conventional chromating processes in metal-finishing industries. A variety of performance tests were employed to evaluate the anti-corrosive ability of these silane mixtures on different metals. The test results consistently demonstrated that corrosion protection performance of silane mixtures is comparable to that of chromates. In addition, a characterization study of these silane mixtures was also carried out with respect to solution stability, film thickness measurements and the effect of metal substrates on silane film structures, in order to obtain a better understanding of these silane mixtures.

The Effect of Metal Substrate (Al, Cu, Ag, and Au) on the Photodegradation of Polymers: Polyacrylonitrile

Al-backed PVF film shows more photodegradation than does the non-metalized PVF film. The effect of several metal substrates (Al, Cu, Ag, and Au) on the photodegradation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) has been examined. Under oxidative conditions, the order of PAN photodegradation in M/PAN films is shown to be Cu/PAN » PAN » Al/PAN > Au/PAN > Ag/PAN. Formation of carbonyl group during the photodegradation is predominant in the cases of Al and Au. Under nonoxidative conditions there is no evidence of carbonyl group formation, but the photodegradation of Cu/PAN is still substantial. Under oxidative conditions the Cu/PAN film begins to char after approximately one hour, compared with four and a half hours under nonoxidative conditions. The photodegradation mechanism in the range of 250 ≤ λ ≤ 400 nm suggests the formation of M(CN) x species, but no such species are detected spectroscopically at the energy employed. A catalytic effect of metal films on the photodegradation of PAN is obvious.