Bacteria Adherence Properties of Nitrogen-Doped TiO_2 Coatings by Plasma Surface Alloying Technique

In order to obtain a high-performance surface on 316L stainless steel （S. S） that can meet the requirements in medical material field environment, nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide （TiO2-xNx） was synthesized by oxidative annealing the resulted TiNx coatings in air. Titanium nitride coatings on 316L S. S were obtained by plasma surface alloying technique. The as-prepared coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectrometer （GDOES）, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The bacteria adherence property of the TiO2-xNx coatings on S. S on the oral bacteria Streptococcus Mutans was investigated and compared with that of S. S by fluorescence microscopy. The mechanism of the bacteria adherence was discussed. The results show that the TiO2-xNx coatings are composed of anatase crystalline structure. SEM measurement indicates a rough surface morphology with three-dimensional homogenous protuberances after annealing treatment. Because of the photocatalysis and positive adhesion free energy, the TiO2-xNx coatings inhibit the bacteria adherence.

Plasma Niobium Surface Alloying of Pure Titanium and its Oxidation at 900 ℃

A niobium-modified layer on pure titanium surface was obtained by means of double glow plasma surface alloying technique. The modified layer was uniform, continuous, compact and well adhered to the substrate. The niobium composition in the modified layer decreased gradually from the surface to the substrate. The oxidation behavior of the niobium-modified layer was investigated and com- pared with the untreated surface at 900 ~C for 100 h. Characterization of the layers was performed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The test results show that the oxidation behavior of pure titanium was improved by niobium alloying process. Niobium has a positive influence on the oxidation resistance.

Effects of C,N-Codoped on the Corrosion Resistance of TiO_2 Films Prepared by Plasma Surface Alloying and Thermal Oxidation Duplex Process

C,N-codoped TiO 2 films have been deposited onto stainless steel substrates using plasma surface alloying and thermal oxidation duplex process.Composition analysis shows that the films shield the substrates entirely.The TiO 2 films are anatase in structure as characterized by X-ray diffraction.The electrochemical measurements show that the equilibrium corrosion potential positively shifts from-0.275 eV for bare stainless steel to-0.267 eV for C,N-codoped TiO 2 coated stainless steel,and the corrosion current density decreases from 1.3×10-5 A/cm2 to 4.1×10-6 A/cm2.The corrosion resistance obtained by electrochemistry noise also reveals that the C,N-codoped TiO 2 films provide good protection for stainless steel against corrosion in stimulated body fluid.The above results indicate that C,N-codoped TiO 2 films deposited by plasma surface alloying and thermal oxidation duplex process are effective in protecting stainless steel from corrosion.

Cooperative effect of surface alloying and laser texturing on tribological performance of lubricated surfaces

The cooperative effect of laser surface texturing(LST) and double glow plasma surface alloying on tribological performance of lubricated sliding contacts was investigated.A Nd:YAG laser was used to generate microdimples on steel surfaces. Dimples with the diameter of 150μm and the depth of 30-35μm distributed circumferentially on the disc surface.The alloying element Cr was sputtered to the laser texturing steel surface by double glow plasma technique.A deep diffusion layer with a thickness of 30μm and a high hardness of HV900 was formed in this alloy.Tribological experiments of three types of samples(smooth,texturing and texturing+alloying) were conducted with a ring-on-disc tribometer to simulate the face seal.It is found that,in comparison with smooth steel surfaces,the laser texturing samples significantly reduce the friction coefficient.Moreover,the lower wear rate of the sample treated with the two surface techniques is observed.

Tribological Properties of Dimpled Surface Alloying Layer on Carbon Steel

The effect of surface structure and coating on tribological properties of 45^# carbon steel disc was analyzed. A Nd：YAG laser was used to generate rnicrodirnples on steel surfaces. Dimples with diameter of 150 rn and depth of 50 rn were distributed in an orbicular array on disc surface. Then the alloying element Mo was sputtered to 45# carbon steel disc surface by means of double glow plasma technology. Diffusion Mo alloying layer with 30min thickness and high hardness up to 0.025 was formed on the disc surface. Tribological experiments of three types samples （smooth, texturing and texturing＋alloying） were conducted with a pin-on-disc tribometer. It is found that the dimpled-samples are most effective for reducing friction in comparison with smooth steel surthces, improving the lubricating state from boundary to hydrodynamic region.

Anti-oxidation characteristics of Cr-coating on surface of Ti-45Al-8.5Nb alloy by plasma surface metallurgy technique

TiAl-based alloys have received extensive attention recently due to their excellent properties. However, the weak oxidation resistance at temperatures higher than 800℃ can limit their further high-temperature structural applications.To improve the oxidation resistance of a high-Nb-content γ-TiAl alloy(Ti-45 Al-8.5 Nb, in units of at.%), a chromium(Cr)coating is prepared by using the plasma surface alloying technique, separately, at 800℃ and 1000℃. The x-ray diffraction(XRD) patterns reveal that an oxide surface layer consisting of Cr2O3, Al2O3, and TiO2 is produced on the Cr-coated Nb containing γ-TiAl substrates during the initial oxidation. However, the Cr2O3 is dominated in the oxide surface layer after being isothermally oxidized for 300 h. The oxidation kinetic curves are composed of a parabolic law stage(≤ 90 h) and a biquadratic law stage(≥ 90 h), fit by weight–gain curves. Due to diffusion in the fabrication process and oxidation process,the Cr-coated specimens have an adhesion force after being isothermally oxidized, specifically 69 N for a specimen after oxidation for 300 h. These results demonstrate that the Cr coating enhances the oxidation resistance and adhesion of a Ti-45 Al-8.5 Nb alloy, which may provide a new feasible scheme for designing oxidation protection layers.

Effect of Various Additives on Performance of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation Coatings Formed on AZ31 Magnesium Alloy in the Phosphate Electrolytes

Plasma electrolytic oxidation（PEO） coatings were prepared on AZ31 magnesium alloy using alkaline phosphate as base electrolyte system, and with the addition of sodium silicate（Na2SiO3）, sodium aluminate（NaAlO2） and potassium fluorozirconate（K2ZrF6） as additives. The microstructure, phase composition and element composition as well as surface profile of the PEO coatings were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDS）, and threedimensional（3 D） optical profilometry. The corrosion and wear properties were evaluated by electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization in 3.5 wt% Na Cl solution and ball-on-disc wear tests, respectively. The results showed that the anions of the additives effectively participated in the coating formation influencing its microstructural features, chemical composition, corrosion resistance and tribological behaviour. It was observed that the sample treated by PEO in the electrolyte solution containing K2ZrF6 as an additive showed better corrosion and abrasive resistance.

Optimization of shearer sliding boots by plasma cladding with Cr_4MnTi

Severe production conditions in coal mines cause damage and failure problems with the oriented sliding boots of the mechanical shearer. Wear has been an especially vexing problem. Plasma cladding methods were used to study optimized sliding boot design. By cladding the substrate steel the surface may be made of a material more resistant to wear. The iron based alloy Cr4MnTi was coated onto a modified 45 steel matrix material in these tests. The results show that the alloy cladding layer is high strength, has high hardness, and is highly resistant to wear. After hardening and tempering, 45 steel substrate has great tenacity so the combined structure meets the performance requirements for the construction of shearer sliding boots.

High Selective Etching of Aluminum Alloys In High Plasma Density Reactor

An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) discharge and its etching behaviors for aluminum alloys were investigated in this report. A radio frequency power supply was used for plasma generation. The unique hardware configuration enabled one to control ion energy separately from plasma density. Plasma properties were measured with a Langmuir probe. Electron temperature, plasma potential and plasma density were found to be comparable with those reported from Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) and other types of reactors[1].A mixture of HBr and chlorine gases were used for this aluminum etch study. Experimental matrices were designed with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to analyze the process trends versus etch parameters, such as source power, bias power and gas composition. An etch rate of 8500A to 9000A per minute was obtained at 5 to 15 mTorr pressure ranges. Anisotropic profiles with high photoresist selectivity (5 to 1) and silicon dioxide selectivity greater than 10 were achieved with HBr addition into chlorine plasma.Bromine-containing chemistry for an aluminum etch in a low pressure ICP discharge showed great potential for use in ULSI fabrication. In addition, the hardware used was very simple and the chamber size was much smaller than other high density plasma sources.

Antibacterial Property of Cu Modified Stainless Steel by Plasma Surface Alloying

Stainless steel（SS） is not recommended to be used in hospital environments for work surfaces and door furniture due to the lack of antibacterial properties.To this end,a novel SS surface modified layer with both a quick bacterial killing rate and relatively thick has been obtained by plasma surface alloying with Cu.The microstructure,elements distribution and phase identification were analyzed by SEM,GDS,XRD and XPS.A spread plate method was adopted for evaluation of antibacterial property of specimens against Escherichia coli（E.coli） and Staphylococcus aureus（S.aureus）.The experimental results demonstrate that the surface modified layer with the thickness of about 26 μm is uniform and dense.The layer is mainly composed of a mixture of pure Cu,expanded austenite phase and a few Fe3O4 phase.The Cu modified layer exhibits excellent antibacterial effects against E.coli and S.aureus within 1 h.No viable E.coli and S.aureus was found after 3 h（100% killed）.The modified layer is relatively thick,hence it is expected that the Cu modified SS will have a durable antibacterial function

Microstructure and Wear Resistance of N-Doped TiO_2 Coatings Grown on Stainless Steel by Plasma Surface Alloying Technology

N doped TiO2 （N-TiO2） coatings were obtained by oxidation of titanium nitride coatings, which were pre pared by the plasma surface alloying technique on stainless steel （SS）. The microstructure of N-TiO2 coatings was characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, glow discharge optical emission spectrometry （GDOES）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, respectively. Ball-on-disc sliding wear was applied to test and compare the tribological behaviors of the coatings and substrate. XRD patterns showed that anatase type TiO2 existed in the coatings after oxidation. GDOES showed that the resultant coatings had a layered structure, comprising of N-TiO2 layer at the top and a diffusion-type interface. Such a hybrid coatings system showed good adhesion with the substrate. According to XPS, residual N atoms partially occupied O atom sites in the TiO2 lattice. Uniform, continuous and compact coatings were observed by SEM images of coatings after oxidation. Under a load of 7.6 N, the coefficient of friction was in the range of 0.27--0.38 for the N-TiO2/Al2O3 systems and the wear rate of the coatings was only one-fourteenth of that for untreated 316L SS. N-TiO2 coatings displayed much better wear resistance and antifrietion performance than SS substrate.

Effect of phosphate-based sealing treatment on the corrosion performance of a PEO coated AZ91D mg alloy

This study investigated the effect of sealing treatment on the corrosion performance of plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)coated AZ91D Mg alloy with and without addition of corrosion inhibitor.The microstructure,phase composition and corrosion property of the sealed and unsealed coatings were evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersion spectroscopy(EDS),x-ray diffraction(XRD),x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),polarization,and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)tests.Electrochemical experiments and salt spray tests showed that,after sealing in phosphate solution containing corrosion inhibitor,the corrosion current density of PEO-coated AZ91D decreased more than 10-fold and the anti-corrosion time in a salt spray environment increased more than three-fold.The corrosion rate of the PEO coating slowed down due to the releasing and adsorbing of the corrosion inhibitors in the pores and cracks of the coating during the corrosion process.

Preparation and Arc Erosion Characteristics of Ultrafine Crystalline CuCr50 Alloy by MA-SPS

The ultrafine crystalline CuCr50（Cr 50 wt%） alloys were fabricated by a combination of mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process. The effects of milling time on crystallite size and solid solubility of the CuCr50 composite powders were investigated. The results showed that crystallite size of powders decreases gradually and solid solubility of Cr in Cu was extended with increasing milling time. The minimal crystallite size about 10 nm and the maximum solid solubility about 8.4 at%（i e, 7 wt%） were obtained at 60 h. The microstructure of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy was analyzed by SEM and TEM, which contains two kinds of size scale Cr particles of 2 μm and 50-150 nm, distributing homogeneously in matrix, respectively. The arc erosion characteristics of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy were investigated by the vacuum contact simulation test device in low D.C. voltage and low current（24 V/10 A）. A commercial microcrystalline CuCr50 alloy was also investigated for comparison. Experiments indicate that the cathode mass loss of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 contact material is higher than that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material, but its eroded surface morphology by the arc is uniform without obvious erosion pits. While the surface of microcrystalline CuCr50 contact is seriously eroded in local area by the arc, an obvious erosion pit occurred in the core part. Therefore, the ability of arc erosion resistance of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy is improved compared to that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material.

Microstructures and properties of CuZrAl and CuZrAlTi medium entropy alloys prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

Equiatomic CuZrAl and CuZrAlTi medium entropy alloys were designed and synthesized by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering technique.The alloying behavior,phase evolutions,microstructures and properties of samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction,differential scanning calorimetry,field emission scanning electron microscopy,microscopy/Vickers hardness testing and electrochemical polarization measurement.The results indicate that the final products of as-milled alloys consist of amorphous phases.Ti addition improves the glass forming ability of as-milled alloys.The as-sintered CuZrAl alloy contains face-centered cubic（fcc）solid solution,Al_（1.05）Cu_（0.95） Zr and AlZr_2 phases at different sintering temperatures.With Ti addition,the as-sintered sample is only composed of intermetallics at 690°C,while fcc1,fcc2 and CuTi3phases are formed at 1100°C.CuZrAlTi-1100°C alloy exhibits the highest hardness value of 1173HV0.2owing to the high sintering density,solid solution strengthening and homogeneous precipitation of nano-size crystalline phase.CuZrAlTi-690°C alloy presents a similar corrosion resistance with304 Lstainless steel in seawater solution and further possesses the lower corrosion rate.

Influence of surface etching pretreatment on PEO process of eutectic Al–Si alloy

To solve the problems generally encountered during the plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO) of Al alloys with high Si content, a pretreatment of chemical etching was applied before the process. The influence of such pretreatment was studied by SEM, EDS and XRD. The pretreatment presents a significant effect on positive voltage at the beginning stage of PEO, leading to higher voltage over the whole process. The difference between the positive voltages of non-etched and etched specimens decreases gradually with the increase of processing time. The pretreatment exhibits much less influence on the negative voltage. For the sample with surface pretreatment, the average growth rate of PEO coating is increased from 0.50 to 0.84 μm·min-1and the energy consumption is decreased from 6.30 to 4.36 k W·h·μm-1·m-2. At the same time, both mullite and amorphous Si O2 contents are decreased in the coating.

Structure and Corrosion Behaviours of Mo Modified Titanium in Saliva

The Mo surface modified layer on titanium was obtained by the plasma surface alloying technique. The structure and composition of the Mo modified titanium were investigated by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy （GDOES）. The Mo modified layer contains Mo coating on subsurface and diffusion layers between the subsurface and substrate. The Xray diffraction analysis of the Mo modified titanium reveals that the outmost surface of the Mo modified titanium is composed of pure Mo. The electrochemical corrosion performance of the Mo modified titanium in saliva was investigated and compared with that of titanium. The chemical corrosion performance of the Mo modified titanium in 37 ℃ saliva was investigated and compared with that of titanium. The experimental results indicated that self-corroding electric potentials and corrosion-rate of the Mo modified titanium were higher than that of titanium in saliva. Corrosion-rate of the Mo modified titanium was lower than that of titanium in 37 ℃ saliva.

Surface Metallurgy of Nickle Base Superalloy

The Double Glow Plasma Surface Alloying Technique, the Xu-Tee Process, is a new method to produce high quality alloying layer on the surface of less expensive materials. By using thes technique, the surface alloying layer similar to superalloy Inconel 625 has been obtained on the surface of three kinds of melallic materials (low carbon steel, industrial pure iron, stainless steel Cr18Ni9). The results of the composition and microstructure analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Uffrachon (XRD) show that the alloying layer consistS of y matrix and several precipitates (Laves intermetallic phase and carbide etc.). The electrochemical corrosion results show that the surface alloying layer formed on the surface of stainless steel and industrial pure iron have better corrosion resistance than that of nickel base alloy inconel 625 and stainless steel Cr18Ni9 in 3.5%NaCl solution. The exper iments indicate that it is an effective way to obtain the gradient surface alloying layer on the surfaces of steels by using Double Glow Plasma Surface Alloying Technique.

Corrosion property of copperized layer on Zr formed by double glow plasma surface alloying technique

Zr and its alloys have excellent mechanical properties as new structural material,but in specific application environment,its corrosion resistance still needs to be further explored.In this work,double glow plasma surface alloying technique was used for copperizing on pure Zr surface.Besides,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and energy dispersion spectrum（EDS） were employed to characterize the samples.Furthermore,research was also conducted on the polarization curve of the samples in different solutions.Copperizing on surface can improve corrosion resistance of pure Zr in 3.5 % Na Cl and 0.5 moláL-1Na OH solutions.Especially in 0.5 moláL-1Na OH solution,the corrosion resistance can achieve significant improvement.However,copperizing has no influence on the improvement of corrosion resistance of pure Zr in 0.5 moláL-1H2SO4 solution.The results may provide new insight into way for improving the corrosion property of zirconium alloys.

Plasma electrolytic oxidation of the magnesium alloy MA8 in electrolytes containing TiN nanoparticles

The formation of protective multifunctional coatings on magnesium alloy MA8 using plasma electrolyt- ic oxidation （PEO） in an electrolytic system containing nanosized particles of titanium nitride was investigated. Electrochemical and mechanical properties of the obtained layers were examined. It was established that microhardness of the coating with the nanoparticle concentration of 3 gl-1 increased twofold （4.2 ± 0.5 GPa）, while wear resistance decreased （4.97 × 10-6 mm3 N-1 m-1）, as compared to re- spective values for the PEO-coating formed in the electrolyte without nanoparticles （2.1 ± 0.3 GPa, 1.12 × 10.5 mm3 N-1 m-1）.

Influence of laser re-melting and vacuum heat treatment on plasma-sprayed FeCoCrNiAl alloy coatings

FeCoCrNiAl high entropy alloy coatings were prepared by supersonic air-plasma spraying.The coatings were post-treated by vacuum heat treatment at 600 and 900°C,and laser re-melting with 300 W,respectively,to study the influence of different treatments on the structure and properties of the coatings.The phase constitution,microstructure and microhardness of the coatings after treatments were investigated using X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry.Results showed that the as-sprayed coatings consisted of pure metal and Fe-Cr.The AlNi;phase was obtained after the vacuum heat treatment process.A body-centered cubic structure with less AlNi;could be found in the coating after the laser re-melting process.The average hardness values of the as-sprayed coating and the coatings with two different temperature vacuum heat treatments and with laser re-melting were 177,227,266 and 682 HV,respectively.This suggests that the vacuum heat treatment promoted the alloying process of the coatings,and contributed to the enhancement of the coating wear resistance.The laser re-melted coating showed the best wear resistance.