A short review of antibacterial Cu-bearing stainless steel:antibacterial mechanisms,corrosion resistance,and novel preparation techniques

Cu-bearing stainless steel is widely used in the fields of food,medical and household sanitary equipment because of its surface finish and corrosion resistance.However,the growth of bacteria on stainless steel leads to the formation of biofilms,which causes corrosion.Therefore,the antibacterial property of stainless steel is a worthy research topic.Reviews of breakthroughs in the field of corrosion resistance and antimicrobial properties are still lacking.Herein,due to the scarcity of publications on the antibacterial mechanisms and processing methods of antibacterial Cu-bearing stainless steel,we review the current state of relevant research and progress.The toxicity of Cu,corrosion resistance mechanism of stainless steel,and antibacterial mechanism and preparation method of antibacterial stainless steel are reported.In addition,alloying,surface modification and other methods are found to have limitations in balancing the toxicity and antibacterial properties of copper and the relationship between the antibacterial properties and corrosion resistance of Cu-bearing stainless steel.A new preparation method of antibacterial stainless steel associated with selective laser melting(SLM)is proposed.SLM is becoming a powerful additive manufacturing technology that can be used to manufacture customized and complex metals.The research status of SLM applied in antibacterial stainless steel preparation is described.Finally,the future research direction of Cu-bearing antibacterial stainless steel is discussed.

Antibacterial Performance of Cu-Bearing Stainless Steel against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Whole Milk

Pathogen microorganisms exist in various environments such as dairy processing facilities. They are not easily eliminated, and significantly raise the risk of bacterial contamination. The inhibition ability of a novel type 304 Cu-bearing stainless steel （304CUSS） with nano-sized Cu-rich precipitates against Staph-ylococcus aureus （S. aureus） and Pseudomonas aeruginosa （P. aeruginosa） added whole milk was investigated in this study. The results showed that after 24 h contact, the inhibition rates of the 304CUSS against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa added whole milk reached 99.2% ± 0.3% and 99.3% ± 0.2%, respectively, in contrast with the 304SS. In the plain whole milk, the inhibition rate of the 304CUSS also reached 66.9% ± 2.0% compared with the 304SS. The results demonstrated that the 304CUSS killed majority of the planktonic bacteria, and inhibited sessile bacteria adherence to the steel surface in the whole milk with and without bacteria addition, significantly reducing the bacterial growth rate. These research outcomes explicitly show an application potential of this novel antibacterial stainless steel in the dairy related food industry.

Antibacterial behavior and related mechanisms of martensitic Cu-bearing stainless steel evaluated by a mixed infection model of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro

Escherichia coli(E.coli)and Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus)are the most typical pathogenic bacteria with a significantly high risk of bio-contamination,widely existing in hospital and public places.Recent studies on antibacterial materials and the related mechanisms have attracted more interests of researchers.However,the antibacterial behavior of materials is usually evaluated separately on the single bacterial strain,which is far from the practical condition.Actually,the interaction between the polymicrobial communities can promote the growing profile of bacteria,which may weaken the antibacterial effect of materials.In this work,a 420 copper-bearing martensitic stainless steel(420 CuSS)was studied with respect to its antibacterial activity and the underlying mechanism in a co-culturing infection model using both E.coli and S.au reus.Observed via plating and counting colony forming units(CFU),Cu releasing,and material characterization,420 CuSS was proved to present excellent antibacterial performance against the mixed bacteria with an approximately 99.4%of antibacterial rate.In addition,420 CuSS could effectively inhibit the biofilm formation on its surfaces,resulting from a synergistic antibacterial effect of Cu ions,Fe ions,reactive oxygen species(ROS),and proton consumption of bacteria.

Antibacterial Performance of a Cu-bearing Stainless Steel against Microorganisms in Tap Water

Tap water is one of the most commonly used water resources in our daily life. However, the increasing water contamination and the health risk caused by pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli have attracted more attention. The mutualism of different pathogenic bacteria may diminish antibacterial effect of antibacterial agents. It was found that materials used for making pipe and tap played one of the most important roles in promoting bacterial growth. This paper is to report the performance of an innovative type 304 Cu-bearing stainless steel(304Cu SS) against microbes in tap water. The investigation methodologies involved were means of heterotrophic plate count, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy for observing the cell and subtract surface morphology,atomic absorption spectrometry for copper ions release study, and confocal laser scanning microscopy used for examining live/dead bacteria on normal 304 stainless steel and 304 Cu SS. It was found that the surface free energy varied after being immersed in tap water with polar component and Cu ions release.The results showed 304 Cu SS could effectively kill most of the planktonic bacteria(max 95.9% antibacterial rate), and consequently inhibit bacterial biofilms formation on the surface, contributing to the reduction of pathogenic risk to the surrounding environments.

In vitro study on infectious ureteral encrustation resistance of Cu-bearing stainless steel

Cu-bearing stainless steel has been found to have obvious inhibition performance against encrustation in vitro. This study was aiming to further investigate the inhibitory effect of a Cu-bearing stainless steel（316 L-Cu SS） on the infectious encrustation based on its antimicrobial activity. The encrustation in presence of bacteria, antibacterial performance, urease production and Ca and Mg precipitation were examined by scanning electron microscopy, antibacterial assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, respectively. It was found that 316 L-Cu SS could inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilm due to the release of Cu^（2＋） ions and then decrease the urease amount splitting by bacteria, which produced a neutral environment with pH around 7. However, more encrustations coupled with bacterial biofilms on the surface of comparison stainless steel（316 L SS） with an alkaline environment were recorded. It can thus be seen that the 316 L-Cu SS highlights prominent superiority against encrustation in the presence of microorganisms.

Effects of iron oxide on crystallization behavior and spatial distribution of spinel in stainless steel slag

Chromium plays a vital role in stainless steel due to its ability to improve the corrosion resistance of the latter.However,the re-lease of chromium from stainless steel slag(SSS)during SSS stockpiling causes detrimental environmental issues.To prevent chromium pollution,the effects of iron oxide on crystallization behavior and spatial distribution of spinel were investigated in this work.The results revealed that FeO was more conducive to the growth of spinels compared with Fe2O3 and Fe3O4.Spinels were found to be mainly distrib-uted at the top and bottom of slag.The amount of spinel phase at the bottom decreased with the increasing FeO content,while that at the top increased.The average particle size of spinel in the slag with 18wt%FeO content was 12.8μm.Meanwhile,no notable structural changes were observed with a further increase in FeO content.In other words,the spatial distribution of spinel changed when the content of iron oxide varied in the range of 8wt%to 18wt%.Finally,less spinel was found at the bottom of slag with a FeO content of 23wt%.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a cast TRIP-assisted multiphase stainless steel

Stainless steels are used in a wide range of complex environments due to their excellent corrosion resistance.Multiphase stainless steels can offer an excellent combination of strength,toughness and corrosion resistance due to the coexistence of different microstructures.The microstructure and mechanical properties of a novel cast multiphase stainless steel,composed of martensite,ferrite,and austenite,were investigated following appropriate heat treatment processes:solution treatment at 1,050℃ for 0.5 h followed by water quenching to room temperature,and aging treatment at 500℃ for 4 h followed by water quenching to room temperature.Results show reversed austenite is formed by diffusion of Ni element during aging process,and the enrichment of Ni atoms directly determines the mechanical stability of austenite.The austenite with a lower Ni content undergoes a martensitic transformation during plastic deformation.The tensile strength of the specimen exceeds 1,100 MPa and the elongation exceeds 24%after solid solution,and further increases to 1,247 MPa and 25%after aging treatment.This enhancement is due to the TRIP effect of austenite and the precipitation of the nanoscale G-phase pinning dislocations in ferrite and martensite.

Bulging Distortion of Austenitic Stainless Steel Sheet on the Partially Penetrated Side of Non-Penetration Lap Laser Welding Joint

Non-penetration laser welding of lap joints in austenitic stainless steel sheets is commonly preferred in fields where the surface quality is of utmost importance.However,the application of non-penetration welded austenitic stainless steel parts is limited owing to the micro bulging distortion that occurs on the back surface of the partial penetration side.In this paper,non-penetration lap laser welding experiments,were conducted on galvanized and SUS304 austenitic stainless steel plates using a fiber laser,to investigate the mechanism of bulging distortion.A comparative experiment of DC01 galvanized steel-Q235 carbon steel lap laser welding was carried out,and the deflection and distortion profile of partially penetrated side of the sheets were measured using a noncontact laser interferometer.In addition,the cold-rolled SUS304 was subjected to heat holding at different temperatures and water quenching after bending to characterize its microstructure under tensile and compressive stress.The results show that,during the heating stage of the thermal cycle of laser lap welding,the partial penetration side of the SUS304 steel sheet generates compressive stress,which extrudes the material in the heat-affected zone to the outside of the back of the SUS304 steel sheet,thereby forming a bulge.The findings of these experiments can be of great value for controlling the distortion of the partial penetrated side of austenitic stainless steel sheet during laser non-penetration lap welding.

Progress in weldability research of duplex stainless steels

Duplex stainless steels(DSSs)show better corrosion resistance with higher strength than traditional austenite stainless steels in many aggressive environments,and can be welded properly with almost every welding processes,if proper heat input is provided.Progresses of research works on weldability of DSSs in recent years are reviewed in this paper.Balance control of ferrite/austenite phases is most important for DSSs welding.The phases balance can be controlled with filler materials,nitrogen addition in shielding gas,heat input,post weld heat treatment,and alternating magnetic field.Too high cooling rate results in not only extra ferrite,but also chromium nitride precipitation.While too low cooling rate or heating repeatedly results in precipitation of secondary austenite and intermetallic compounds.In both situations,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the DSS joints deteriorate.Recommended upper and lower limits of heat input and maximum interpass temperature should be observed.

Effect of Ni content on the weldability of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless steels 00Cr21Ti

Excellent weldability substantially contributes to the intrinsic quality of steels,while appropriate chemical composition plays a primary role in the essential weldability of steels.The poor weldability of ferritic stainless steels could be improved through modification with minor alloy elements while minimally increasing the cost.Therefore,studying the effect of minor alloy elements on the weldability of steels is of considerable importance.In this study,several steels of middle-chromium hyperpure ferritic stainless 00Cr21Ti with different Ni content(0.3%,0.5%,0.8%,and 1.0%)were developed,and their weldabilities of butt joint samples welded using the metal inert gas welding process,including the influence of welded joints on the microstructure,tensile performance,corrosion resistance,and fatigue property,were investigated.Results show that the steels with w(Ni)≥0.8%exhibit excellent mechanical properties compared with those with low-Ni content steels,further,their impact toughness at normal atmospheric temperature meets the industrial application standard and the fatigue property is similar to that of 304 austenitic stainless steel.Moreover,results show that the corrosion resistance of all the samples is almost at the same level.The results acquired in this study are supposed to be useful for the optimization of the chemical composition of stainless steels aiming to improve weldability.

Experimental Study on Corrosion of Stainless Steel in Low Temperature Multi effect Seawater Desalination

Starting from the corrosion mechanism,this paper analyzes the characteristics of various types of stainless steel and selects the best performance composite plate composite plate stainless steel.Analyze and select the most suitable corrosion detection method based on specific practical multi working conditions,discuss the interference factors that affect metal corrosion during experimental simulation,and the advantages of newly developed sheet metal.The new development of composite board panels,with the substrate and composite materials applying their respective capabilities for MED,will bring breakthrough progress to the scientific research and engineering applica-tion of composite boards.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Cu-Bearing 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Selective Laser Melting

Cu-bearing stainless steels(SSs)with high strength,excellent plasticity,and effective antimicrobial properties hold significant potential for applications in the marine industry.In this study,Cu-bearing SSs with copper ranging from 0 to 6.0 wt%were successfully prepared using selective laser melting(SLM)technology.For the Cu-bearing SSs with different copper contents,the effect of heat treatment on the microstructural and mechanical behaviors was studied systematically.Microstructural observations revealed that the subgrain size of Cu-bearing SSs increased with heat treatment at 500℃ and 700℃ for 6 h.Furthermore,the tensile strength and elongation increased after the heat treatment temperature due to the combined effect of dislocations,twins,andε-Cu precipitated phases.Notably,after heat treatment at 700℃,the SLM4.5Cu sample exhibited an abnormal rise in tensile strength and elongation.This finding suggests that the diffusion strengthening caused byε-Cu precipitates exceeded the stacking fault energy.Consequently,the tensile strength and elongation reached 693.32 MPa and 56.94%,respectively.This work provides an efficient approach for preparing Cu-bearing SSs with exceptional strength and plasticity.

Effect of surface damage induced by cavitation erosion on pitting and passive behaviors of 304L stainless steel

The corrosion behavior of 304L stainless steel(SS)in 3.5wt%NaCl solution after different cavitation erosion(CE)times was mainly evaluated using electrochemical noise and potentiostatic polarization techniques.It was found that the antagonism effect resulting in the passivation and depassivation of 304L SS had significant distinctions at different CE periods.The passive behavior was predominant during the incubation period of CE where the metastable pitting initiated at the surface of 304L SS.Over the rising period of CE,the 304L SS experienced a transition from passivation to depassivation,leading to the massive growth of metastable pitting and stable pitting.The depassivation of304L SS was found to be dominant at the stable period of CE where serious localized corrosion occurred.

Achieving a high-strength dissimilar joint of T91 heat-resistant steel to 316L stainless steel via friction stir welding

The reliable welding of T91 heat-resistant steel to 316L stainless steel is a considerable issue for ensuring the safety in service of ultrasupercritical power generation unit and nuclear fusion reactor,but the high-quality dissimilar joint of these two steels was difficult to be obtained by traditional fusion welding methods.Here we improved the structure-property synergy in a dissimilar joint of T91 steel to 316L steel via friction stir welding.A defect-free joint with a large bonding interface was produced using a small-sized tool under a relatively high welding speed.The bonding interface was involved in a mixing zone with both mechanical mixing and metallurgical bonding.No obvious material softening was detected in the joint except a negligible hardness decline of only HV~10 in the heat-affected zone of the T91 steel side due to the formation of ferrite phase.The welded joint exhibited an excellent ultimate tensile strength as high as that of the 316L parent metal and a greatly enhanced yield strength on account of the dependable bonding and material renovation in the weld zone.This work recommends a promising technique for producing high-strength weldments of dissimilar nuclear steels.

Sputtered Stainless Steel on Silicon Photoanode for Stable Seawater Splitting in Photoelectrochemical Flow Cell

Photoelectrochemical(PEC)seawater splitting is a promising method for the direct utilization of solar energy and abundant seawater resources for hydrogen production.Photoelectrodes are susceptible to various ions in seawater and complicated competitive reactions,resulting in the failure of photoelectrodes.This paper proposes the design and fabrication of diff erent sputtered stainless steel(SS)fi lms deposited on silicon photoanodes,completely isolating the electrolytes and semiconductor substrate.Upon coupling with the PEC flow cell,the back-illuminated photoanode coated with 316 SS cocatalyst achieves stable operation for 70 h in natural seawater with a highly alkaline KOH(30 wt.%,7.64 mol/L)electrolyte due to the remarkable protection eff ect of the substrate from stainless steel,while the PEC seawater splitting system achieves a record hydrogen production rate of 600μmol/(h·cm^(2)).An appropriate Ni/Fe ratio in the SS ensures remarkable oxygen evolution activity,while chromic oxide ensures the effective anticorrosion effect by adjusting the microenvironment of the photoanodes.Moreover,fabricating PEC flow cells with photoanodes coated with SS cocatalysts are a viable strategy for PEC seawater splitting.

Study on the corrosion behavior of 316H stainless steel in molten NaCl–KCl–MgCl_(2) salts with and without purification

The corrosion behavior of 316H stainless steel(SS)in the impure and purified Na Cl–KCl–Mg Cl_(2) salt was investigated at700°C.Results indicate that the main deleterious impurity induced corrosion in the impure salt was the absorbed moisture,present in the form of Mg Cl_(2)·6H_(2)O.316H SS occurred severe intergranular corrosion with a corrosion depth of 130μm for1000 h in the impure Na Cl–KCl–Mg Cl_(2) salt.In contrast,the purification treatment of molten chloride salt by the dissolved Mg metal can remove the absorbed moisture,and the corresponding reactions were also discussed.As a result,the corrosiveness of Na Cl–KCl–Mg Cl_(2) salt is reduced significantly.316H SS occurred slight uniform corrosion with a depth of less than 5μm for 3000 h in the purified Na Cl–KCl–Mg Cl_(2) salt.

Effect of Chromium-enhanced Diffusivity on Reverted Transformation in Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steels:Theoretical Calculation and Experiment

Effects of nucleation sites and diffusivity enhancement of chromium on reverted transformation of AISI 304 stainless steel during annealing process were investigated.Dynamics calculation revealed that the reverted transformation of strain-inducedα’-martensite→γaustenite could were closely associated with active nucleation sites and diffusivity enhancement of chromium in nanocrystallineα’-martensite.The experimental data and the results were in accordance with 2-grain austenite/α’-martensite junctions calculated theoretically,which could result from high chromium diffusion rate in nanocrystallineα’-martensite.In addition,low temperature is not conducive to reversed transformation,while high temperature and long annealing time will lead to inhomogeneous grain size distribution.

Processing map and dynamic recrystallization behaviours of 316LN-Mn austenitic stainless steel

The hot deformation behaviours of 316LN-Mn austenitic stainless steel were investigated by uniaxial isothermal compression tests at different temperatures and strain rates.The microstructural evolutions were also studied using electron backscatter diffraction.The flow stress decreases with the increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate.A constitutive equation was established to characterize the relationship among the deformation parameters,and the deformation activation energy was calculated to be 497.92 k J/mol.Processing maps were constructed to describe the appropriate processing window,and the optimum processing parameters were determined at a temperature of 1107-1160℃ and a strain rate of 0.005-0.026 s^(-1).Experimental results showed that the main nucleation mechanism is discontinuous dynamic recrystallization(DDRX),followed by continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX).In addition,the formation of twin boundaries facilitated the nucleation of dynamic recrystallization.

High throughput screening of localised and general corrosion in type 2205 duplex stainless steel at ambient temperature

Bipolar electrochemistry is used to produce a linear potential gradient across a bipolar electrode(BPE),providing direct access to the anodic and cathodic reactions under a wide range of applied potentials.The occurrence of pitting corrosion,crevice corrosion,and general corrosion on type 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS 2205)BPE has been observed at room temperature.The critical pit depth of 10-20μm with a55%-75% probability of pits developing into stable pits at potential from+0.9 to+1.2 V vs.OCP(open circuit potential)are measured.All pit nucleation sites are either within ferritic grains or at the interface between austenite and ferrite.The critical conditions for pitting and crevice corrosion are discussed with Epit(critical pitting potential)and Ecre(critical crevice potential)decreasing from 0.87 and 0.80 V vs.OCP after150 s of exposure to 0.84 and 0.76 V vs.OCP after 900 s of exposure,respectively.Pit growth kinetics under different applied bipolar potentials and exposure times have been obtained.The ferrite is shown to be more susceptible to general dissolution.

Deformation Mechanism of Bimodal Structured 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel in Two Yield Stages

A kind of micro/nanostructured 2205 duplex stainless steel(DSS)with uniform distribution of nanocrystals was prepared via aluminothermic reaction method.The analysis of stress-strain curve showed that the fracture strength and elongation of the specimen were 946 MPa and 24.7%,respectively.At present,the research on microstructure of bimodal 2205 DSS at room temperature(RT)mainly depended on scanning electron microscope(SEM)observation after loading experiments.The test result indicates that there are two different yield stages in stress-strain curve of specimen during tensile process.The microstructure of duplex bimodal structured stainless steel consists of two pairs of soft hard regions and phases.By studying deformation mechanism of bimodal structured stainless steel,the interaction between soft phase and hard phase are discussed.The principle of composition design and microstructure control of typical duplex stainless steel is obtained,which provides an important research basis for designing of advanced duplex stainless steel.