Effect of multilayer CrN/CrAlN coating on the corrosion and contact resistance behavior of 316L SS bipolar plate for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Stainless steels have received wide attention as a substitute material for bipolar plates in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell(HT-PEMFC).In the present work,the CrN,CrAlN and multilayer CrN/CrAlN coatings were deposited on 316 L SS to increase the corrosion resistance and decrease the interfacial contact resistance.The deposited coatings exhibited face centered cubic phase structure and it was verified from the X-ray diffraction pattern.X-ray photo electron spectroscopy results showed the formation of both CrN and CrAlN layers on 316 L SS.CrN/CrAlN coating is more helpful in water management due to low surface roughness and high contact angle in the HT-PEMFC environment.The corrosion resistance behavior of all the samples were studied in 85%H_(3)PO_(4)solution at 140℃purged with H_(2)(HT-PEMFC anode)and O_(2)(HT-PEMFC cathode)gases.The results showed that all the coatings considerably improved the performance of 316 L SS and superior corrosion resistance was observed for CrN/CrAlN multilayer coating,whose protective efficiency was 98.12%and 96.14%in the two simulated HT-PEMFC environments.The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies demonstrated higher impedance for CrN/CrAlN coating.Surface morphological studies performed after corrosion studies revealed that protection ability of CrN/CrAlN coating still remained acceptable.A very low interfacial contact resistance value of 6 mΩ cm^(2) at 140 N/cm;was observed for CrN/CrAlN coating.Moreover,after corrosion studies,the interfacial contact resistance value of CrN/CrAlN coated 316 L was much lower than that of CrN and CrAlN coatings due to the increased oxidation resistance.The maximum power density of about 0.93 W/cm^(2) at 2 A/cm^(2) and output voltage of 0.96 V was observed for CrN/CrAlN coating.

Enhancing the Antibacterial Efficiency of ZnO Nanopowders Synthesized by Combustion Method Through Ag+Fe Co-doping

（Ag ＋ Fe）-doped ZnO nanopowders have been synthesized using combustion method. Ag doping level was kept as 2 at.%, and Fe doping level was varied from 3 to 6 at,%, and the structural, optical, surface morphological, and antibacterial properties have been investigated. The structural studies show that ZnO/（Ag 4-Fe） nanopowders have hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation along the （101） plane. The FE-SEM images indicate that there is a gradual decrease in the grain size with the increase in the doping level of Fe, and the TEM images are correlated well with FE-SEM images. The XPS profile clearly confirms the presence of expected elemental composition. Photolumi- nescence studies reveal the presence of extrinsic defects in the material. Antibacterial activity of Ag- and Fe-doped ZnO nanopowders against Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio Cholerae, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was also investigated.

Type Inversion and Certain Physical Properties of Spray Pyrolysed SnO_2:Al Films for Novel Transparent Electronics Applications

Aluminium doped tin oxide films have been deposited onto glass substrates by using a simplified and low cost spray pyrolysis technique. The AI doping level varies between 0 and 30 at.% in the step of 5 at.%. The resistivity （p） is the minimum （0.38 Ω cm） for 20 at.% of AI doping. The possible mechanism behind the phenomenal zig-zag variation in resistivity with respect to AI doping is discussed in detail. The nature of conductivity changes from n-type to p-type when the AI doping level is 10 at.%. The results show that 20 at.% is the optimum doping level for good quality p-type SnO2：AI films suitable for transparent electronic devices.

Tuning the Structural and Optical Properties of SILAR-Deposited Cu_2O Films Through Zn Doping

Undoped and Zn-doped Cu2O films were deposited onto glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction（SILAR） technique with different Zn doping levels（0, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 wt%）. The structural,optical, and surface morphological studies were carried out and reported. The structural study revealed that the crystalline quality is gradually enhanced up to 5 wt% of Zn doping level, and then quality begins to degrade for further increase in doping level. Moreover, the preferential orientation changes from（111） to（110） for the highest doping level were examined. Optical study shows that the transmittance（65%） and optical band gap values are maximum（2.41 e V） when the Zn doping level is at 5 wt%. The photoluminescence study confirms the presence of various defects in the Cu2O matrix and also the variation obtained in the optical band gap from the transmittance data. SEM images revealed the annealinginduced changes in the surface morphology of the films.

Simultaneous Enhancement of Transparent and Antibacterial Properties of ZnO Films by Suitable F Doping

Undoped and fluorine doped ZnO （ZnO：F） thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by employing a simplified spray pyrolysis technique using a perfume atomizer. The fluorine doping level in the starting solution was varied from 0 to 20 at.% in steps of 5 at.~g and the effects of fluorine doping level on the structural, optical, surface morphological properties along with their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coil （E. coli） and Bacillus subtilis （B. subtilis） bacteria were studied and reported. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed that despite the orientation ofcrystallites was strongly influenced by fluorine doping, the preferential orientation was retained in favor of （002） plane even at the highest doping level. The crystallite size decreased as the F doping level was increased and the reason for this variation has been explained on the basis of Zener pinning effect. The average optical transparency in the visible range was about 80%-90g for doped films and the optical band gap was found to be slightly increased with the F doping level. The antibacterial efficiency of the F doped ZnO films was found to be enhanced as the F doping level was increased. The antibacterial efficiency was more pronounced in the case of B. subtilis （Gram-positive） when compared with E. coil （Gram-negative）.

Tuning the Microstructural and Magnetic Properties of ZnO Nanopowders through the Simultaneous Doping of Mn and Ni for Biomedical Applications

Undoped and Mn＋Ni doped ZnO nanopowders were synthesized using a simple soft chemical route by varying the Ni doping level （1, 3, 5 and 7 at.%） and keeping the Mn doping level （10 at.%） constant, X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the incorporated Ni^2＋ ions form a secondary phase of cubic NiO beyond the Ni doping level of 3 at.%, which is also confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The band gap of the nanopowders increases （from 3.32 to 3.44 eV） up to 3 at.% of Ni doping and decreases with further doping. ZnO：Mn：Ni nanopowders with 3 at.% of Ni concentration exhibit good antibacterial efficiency. The variation in the size of the nanoparticles, as observed from the TEM images and hydroxyl radicals as evidenced from the photoluminescence results, clearly substantiate the discussion on the antibacterial efficiency of the synthesized nanopowders. Magnetic properties of the synthesized nanopowders were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer, and the results showed that the doping of Mn and Ni largely influences the magnetic properties of ZnO nanopowders.