Generating micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surface using ultraprecision diamond surface texturing process

The lightness and high strength-to-weight ratio of the magnesium alloy have attracted more interest in various applications.However,micro/nanostructure generation on their surfaces remains a challenge due to the flammability and ignition.Motivated by this,this study proposed a machining process,named the ultraprecision diamond surface texturing process,to machine the micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surfaces.Experimental results showed the various microstructures and sawtooth-shaped nanostructures were successfully generated on the AZ31B magnesium alloy surfaces,demonstrating the effectiveness of this proposed machining process.Furthermore,sawtooth-shaped nanostructures had the function of inducing the optical effect and generating different colors on workpiece surfaces.The colorful letter and colorful flower image were clearly viewed on magnesium alloy surfaces.The corresponding cutting force,chip morphology,and tool wear were systematically investigated to understand the machining mechanism of micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surfaces.The proposed machining process can further improve the performances of the magnesium alloy and extend its functions to other fields,such as optics.

Modification of Nano-α-Al2O3 and Its Influence on the Surface Properties of Waterborne Polyurethane Resin Composite Passivation Films

Silane coupling agent KH560 was used to modify the surface of nano-α-Al2O3 in ethanol-aqueous solution with different proportions. The particle size of nano-α-Al2O3 was determined by nano-particle size analyzer, and the effects of nano-α-Al2O3 content, ethanol-aqueous solution ratio and KH560 dosage on the dispersion and particle size of nano-α-Al2O3 were investigated. The material structure before and after modification was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Aqueous polyurethane resin and inorganic components are combined with modified nano-α-Al2O3 dispersion to form chromium-free passivation solution. The solution is coated on the galvanized sheet, the adhesion and surface hardness are tested, the bonding strength of the coating and the surface hardness of the substrate are discussed. The corrosion resistance and surface morphology of the matrix were investigated by electrochemical test, neutral salt spray test and scanning electron microscope test. The chromium-free passivation film formed after the modification of nano-α-Al2O3 increases the surface hardness of galvanized sheet by about 85%. The corrosion resistance of the film is better than that of a single polyurethane film. The results show that the surface hardness and corrosion resistance of polyurethane resin composite passivation film are significantly improved by the introduction of nano-α-Al2O3.

Dropwise condensation heat transfer enhancement on surfaces micro/nano structured by a two-step electrodeposition process

Condensation is an important regime of heat transfer which has wide applications in different industries such as power plants,heating,ventilating and air conditioning,and refrigeration.Condensation occurs in two different modes including filmwise (FWC) and dropwise (DWC) condensation.DWC occurring on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces has a much higher heat transfer capacity than FWC.Therefore,wide investigations have been done to produce DWC in recent years.Superhydrophobic surfaces have micro/nano structures with low surface energy.In this study,a two-step electrodeposition process is used to produce micro/nano structures on copper specimens.The surface energy of specimens is reduced by a self-assembled monolayer using ethanol and 1-octadecanethiol solution.The results show that there is an optimum condition for electrodeposition parameters.For example,a surface prepared by 2000 s step time has 5 times greater heat transfer than FWC while a surface with 4000 s step time has nearly the same heat transfer as FWC.The surfaces of the fabricated specimens are examined using XRD and SEM analyses.The SEM analyses of the surfaces show that there are some micro-structures on the surfaces and the surface porosities are reduced by increasing the second step electrodeposition time.

Osteoblast Behavior on Hierarchical Micro-/Nano-Structured Titanium Surface

In the present work, osteoblast behavior on a hierarchical micro-/nano-structured titanium surface was investigated. A hi- erarchical hybrid micro-/nano-structured titanium surface topography was produced via Electrolytic Etching （EE）. MG-63 cells were cultured on disks for 2 h to 7 days. The osteoblast response to the hierarchical hybrid micro-/nano-structured titanium surface was evaluated through the osteoblast cell morphology, attachment and proliferation. For comparison, MG-63 cells were also cultured on Sandblasted and Acid-etched （SEA） as well as Machined （M） surfaces respectively. The results show signifi- cant differences in the adhesion rates and proliferation levels of MG-63 cells on EE, SLA, and M surfaces. Both adhesion rate and proliferation level on EE surface are higher than those on SLA and M surfaces. Therefore, we may expect that, comparing with SLA and M surfaces, bone growth on EE surface could be accelerated and bone formation could be promoted at an early stage, which could be applied in the clinical practices for immediate and early-stage loadings.

Recent development of LiNi_xCo_yMn_zO_2:Impact of micro/nano structures for imparting improvements in lithium batteries

The recent advancement in the design,synthesis,and fabrication of micro/nano structured LiNixCoyMnzO2 with one-,two-,and three-dimensional morphologies was reviewed.The major goal is to highlight LiNixCoyMnzO2 materials,which have been utilized in lithium ion batteries with enhanced energy and power density,high energy efficiency,superior rate capability and excellent cycling stability resulting from the doping,surface coating,nanocomposites and nano-architecturing.

Superhydrophobic surfaces via controlling the morphology of ZnO micro/nano complex structure

ZnO micro/nano complex structure films, including reticulate papillary nodes, petal-like and flake-hole, have been self-assembled by a hydrothermal technique at different temperatures without metal catalysts. The wettability of the above film surfaces was modified with a simple coating of heptadecafluorodecyltrimethoxy-silane in toluene. After modifying, the surface of ZnO film grown at 50℃ was converted from superhydrophilic with a water contact angle lower than 5° to superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of 165° Additionally, the surface of reticulate papillary nodes ZnO film grown at 100 ℃ had excellent superhydrophobicity, with a water contact angle of 173° and a sliding angle lower than 2° Furthermore, the water contact angle on the surface of petal-like and flake-hole ZnO films grown at 150℃ and 200℃ were found to be 140° and 120°, respectively. The wettability for the samples was found to depend strongly on the surface morphology which results from the growth temperature.

Ultrashort pulsed laser induced complex surface structures generated by tailoring the melt hydrodynamics

We present a novel approach for tailoring the laser induced surface topography upon femtosecond(fs)pulsed laser irradiation.The method employs spatially controlled double fs laser pulses to actively regulate the hydrodynamic microfluidic motion of the melted layer that gives rise to the structures formation.The pulse train used,in particular,consists of a previously unexplored spatiotemporal intensity combination including one pulse with Gaussian and another with periodically modulated intensity distribution created by Direct Laser Interference Patterning(DLIP).The interpulse delay is appropriately chosen to reveal the contribution of the microfluidic melt flow,while it is found that the sequence of the Gaussian and DLIP pulses remarkably influences the surface profile attained.Results also demonstrate that both the spatial intensity of the double pulse and the effective number of pulses per irradiation spot can further be modulated to control the formation of complex surface morphologies.The underlying physical processes behind the complex patterns’generation were interpreted in terms of a multiscale model combining electron excitation with melt hydrodynamics.We believe that this work can constitute a significant step forward towards producing laser induced surface structures on demand by tailoring the melt microfluidic phenomena.

Robustness and precision evaluation of the form error of micro-structured surfaces using real coded genetic algorithm

To obtain the form error of micro-structured surfaces robustly and accurately, a form er- ror evaluation method was developed based on the real coded genetic algorithm （RCGA）. The meth- od employed the average squared distance as the matching criterion. The point to surface distance was achieved by use of iterative method and the modeling of RCGA for the surface matching was also presented in detail. Parameter selection for RCGA including the crossover rate and population size was discussed. Evaluation results of series simulated surfaces without form error show that this method can achieve the accuracy of root mean square deviation （ Sq ） less than 1 nm and surface pro- file error （ St ） less than 4 nm. Evaluation of the surfaces with different simulated errors illustrates that the proposed method can also robustly obtain the form error with nano-meter precision. The e- valuation of actual measured surfaces further indicates that the proposed method is capable of pre- cisely evaluating micro-structured surfaces.

Shape gradient and classical gradient of curvatures:driving forces on micro/nano curved surfaces

Recent experiments and molecule dynamics simulations have shown that adhesion droplets on conical surfaces may move spontaneously and directionally. Besides, this spontaneous and directional motion is independent of the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the conical surfaces. Aimed at this important phenomenon, a gen- eral theoretical explanation is provided from the viewpoint of the geometrization of micro/nano mechanics on curved surfaces. In the extrinsic mechanics on micro/nano soft curved surfaces, we disclose that the curvatures and their extrinsic gradients form the driving forces on the curved spaces. This paper focuses on the intrinsic mechanics on micro/nano hard curved surfaces and the experiment on the spontaneous and directional motion. Based on the pair potentials of particles, the interactions between an isolated particle and a micro/nano hard curved surface are studied, and the geometric foundation for the interactions between the particle and the hard curved surface is analyzed. The following results are derived： （a） Whatever the exponents in the pair potentials may be, the potential of the particle/hard curved surface is always of the unified curvature form, i.e., the potential is always a unified function of the mean curvature and the Gaussian curvature of the curved surface. （b） On the basis of the curvature-based potential, the geometrization of the micro/nano mechanics on hard curved surfaces may be realized. （c） Similar to the extrinsic mechanics on micro/nano soft curved surfaces, in the intrinsic mechanics on micro/nano hard curved surfaces, the curvatures and their intrinsic gradi- ents form the driving forces on the curved spaces. In other words, either on soft curved surfaces or hard curved surfaces and either in the extrinsic mechanics or the intrinsic mechanics, the curvatures and their gradients are all essential factors for the driving forces on the curved spaces. （d） The direction of the driving force induced by the hard curved surface is independent of the hydrophilieity and hydrophobicity of the curved surface, explaining the experimental phenomenon of the spontaneous and directional motion.

Effect of a Hybrid Micro/Nano-integrated Titanium Surface on Behavior of Rat Osteoblasts

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a new combined micro/nanoscale implant surface feature on osteoblasts＇ behaviors including cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization in vitro. A new micro/nano-hybrid topography surface was fabricated on commercial pure titanium（Cp Ti） by a two-step sandblasted acid-etching and subsequent alkali-and heattreatment（SA-AH）. The conventional sandblasted/acid-etching（SA） treatment and alkali and heat（AH） treatment were also carried out on the Cp Ti as controls. Surface microstructures of the Ti disc samples were assessed by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. The neonatal rat calvaria-derived osteoblasts were seeded on these discs and the initial cell morphology was evaluated by SEM and immunofluorescence. Initial adhesion of the cells was then assayed by DAPI staining at 1, 2, and 4 h after seeding. The Cell Counting Kit-8（CCact K8） assay, gene expression of osteoblastic markers（ALP, Col 1, OCN, BSP, OSX, Cbfα1） and Alizarin Red S staining assays were monitored respectively for cell proliferations, differentiation and mineralization. The results show significant differences in osteoblast＇s behaviors on the four kinds of Ti surfaces. Compared with Cp Ti surface, the SA and AH treatment can significantly promote cell adhesion, differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts. In particular, the combined SA and AH treatments exhibit synergistic effects in comparison with the treatment of SA and AH individually, and are more favorable for stimulating a series of osteogenous responses from cell adhesion to mineralization of osteoblasts. In summary, this study provides some new evidence that the integrated micro/nanostructure on the Cp Ti surface may promote bone osseointegration between the Ti implantbone interfaces in vitro.

Surface effects of adsorption-induced resonance analysis on micro/nanobeams via nonlocal elasticity

The governing differential equation of micro/nanbeams with atom/molecule adsorption is derived in the presence of surface effects using the nonlocal elasticity. The effects of the nonlocal parameter, the adsorption density, and the surface parameter on the resonant frequency of the micro/nanobeams are investigated. It is found that, in ad- dition to the nonlocal parameter and the surface parameter, the bending rigidity and the adsorption-induced mass exhibit different behaviors with the increase in the adsorption density depending on the adatom category and the substrate material.

Potential application of functional micro-nano structures in petroleum

This paper takes micro-nano motors and metamaterials as examples to introduce the basic concept and development of functional micro nano structures, and analyzes the application potential of the micro-nano structure design and manufacturing technology in the petroleum industry. The functional micro-nano structure is the structure and device with special functions prepared to achieve a specific goal. New functional micro-nano structures are classified into mobile type(e.g. micro-nano motors) and fixed type(e.g. metamaterials), and 3 D printing technology is a developed method of manufacturing. Combining the demand for exploration and development in oil and gas fields and the research status of intelligent micro-nano structures, we believe that there are 3 potential application directions:(1) The intelligent micro-nano structures represented by metamaterials and smart coatings can be applied to the oil recovery engineering technology and equipment to improve the stability and reliability of petroleum equipment.(2) The smart micro-nano robots represented by micro-motors and smart microspheres can be applied to the development of new materials for enhanced oil recovery, effectively improving the development efficiency of heavy oil, shale oil and other resources.(3) The intelligent structure manufacturing technology represented by 3 D printing technology can be applied to the field of microfluidics in reservoir fluids to guide the selection of mine flooding agents and improve the efficiency of mining.

Synthesis of porous nano/micro structured LiFePO_4/C cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries by spray-drying method

In order to enhance electrochemical properties of LiFePO4 （LFP） cathode materials, spherical porous nano/micro structured LFP/C cathode materials were synthesized by spray drying, followed by calcination. The results show that the spherical precursors with the sizes of 0.5-5 μm can be completely converted to LFP/C when the calcination temperature is higher than 500 ℃. The LFP/C microspheres obtained at calcination temperature of 700 ℃ are composed of numerous particles with sizes of -20 nm, and have well-developed interconnected pore structure and large specific surface area of 28.77 mE/g. The specific discharge capacities of the LFP/C obtained at 700 ℃ are 162.43, 154.35 and 144.03 mA.h/g at 0.5C, 1C and 2C, respectively. Meanwhile, the capacity retentions can reach up to 100% after 50 cycles. The improved electrochemical properties of the materials are ascribed to a small Li＋ diffusion resistance and special structure of LFP/C microspheres.

Localized in‑situ deposition:a new dimension to control in fabricating surface micro/nano structures via ultrafast laser ablation

Controllable fabrication of surface micro/nano structures is the key to realizing surface functionalization for various applications.As a versatile approach,ultrafast laser ablation has been widely studied for surface micro/nano structuring.Increasing research eforts in this feld have been devoted to gaining more control over the fabrication processes to meet the increasing need for creation of complex structures.In this paper,we focus on the in-situ deposition process following the plasma formation under ultrafast laser ablation.From an overview perspective,we frstly summarize the diferent roles that plasma plumes,from pulsed laser ablation of solids,play in diferent laser processing approaches.Then,the distinctive in-situ deposition process within surface micro/nano structuring is highlighted.Our experimental work demonstrated that the in-situ deposition during ultrafast laser surface structuring can be controlled as a localized micro-additive process to pile up secondary ordered structures,through which a unique kind of hierarchical structure with fort-like bodies sitting on top of micro cone arrays were fabricated as a showcase.The revealed laser-matter interaction mechanism can be inspiring for the development of new ultrafast laser fabrication approaches,adding a new dimension and more fexibility in controlling the fabrication of functional surface micro/nano structures.

Synthesis of hierarchical dendritic micro–nano structure ZnFe_2O_4 and photocatalytic activities for water splitting

Hierarchical dendritic micro–nano structure Zn Fe_2O_4 have been prepared by electrochemical reduction and thermal oxidation method in this work. X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectra and field-emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the crystal structure, size and morphology. The results show that the sample(S-2) is composed of pure ZnFe_2O_4 when the molar ratio of Zn^(2+)/Fe^(2+)in the electrolyte is 0.35. Decreasing the molar ratio of Zn^(2+)/Fe^(2+), the sample(S-1) is composed of ZnFe_2O_4 and α-Fe_2O_3, whereas increasing the molar ratio of Zn^(2+)/Fe^(2+), the sample(S-3) is composed of ZnFe_2O_4 and Zn O. The lattice parameters of ZnFe_2O_4 are influenced by the molar ratio of Zn^(2+)/Fe: Zn at excess decreases the cell volume whereas Fe at excess increases the cell volume of Zn Fe_2O_4. All the samples have the dendritic structure, of which S-2 has micron-sized lush branches with nano-sized leaves. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra were acquired by a spectrophotometer. The absorption edges gradually blue shift with the increase of the molar ratio of Zn^(2+)/Fe^(2+). Photocatalytic activities for water splitting were investigated under Xe light irradiation in an aqueous olution containing 0.1 mol·L^(-1)Na_2S/0.02 mol·L^(-1)Na_2SO_3 in a glass reactor. The relatively highest photocatalytic activity with 1.41 μmol·h-1· 0.02 g^(-1)was achieved by pure ZnFe_2O_4sample(S-2). The photocatalytic activity of the mixture phase of Zn Fe_2O_4 and α-Fe_2O_3(S-1) is better than ZnF e_2O_4 and ZnO(S-3).

A review of ultrafast laser micro/nano fabrication:Material processing,surface/interface controlling,and devices fabrication

Ultrafast laser processing technology has offered a wide range of opportunities in micro/nano fabrication and other fields such as nanotechnology,biotechnology,energy science,and photonics due to its controllable processing precision,diverse processing capabilities,and broad material adaptability.The processing abilities and applications of the ultrafast laser still need more exploration.In the field of material processing,controlling the atomic scale structure in nanomaterials is challenging.Complex effects exist in ultrafast laser surface/interface processing,making it difficult to modulate the nanostructure and properties of the surface/interface as required.In the ultrafast laser fabrication of micro functional devices,the processing ability needs to be improved.Here,we review the research progress of ultrafast laser micro/nano fabrication in the areas of material processing,surface/interface controlling,and micro functional devices fabrication.Several useful ultrafast laser processing methods and applications in these areas are introduced.With various processing effects and abilities,the ultrafast laser processing technology has demonstrated application values in multiple fields from science to industry.

Preparation of micro/nano-structured ceramic coatings on Ti6Al4V alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation process

In order to improve the osseointegration and antibacterial activity of titanium alloys,micro/nano-structured ceramic coatings doped with antibacterial element F were prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO)process on Ti6Al4V alloy in NaF electrolyte.The influence of NaF concentration(0.15-0.50 mol/L)on the PEO process,microstructure,phase composition,corrosion resistance and thickness of the coatings was investigated using scanning/transmission electron microscopy,energy dispersive spectroscopy,atomic force microscopy,X-ray diffractometer,and potentiodynamic polarization.The results demonstrated that Ti6Al4V alloy had low PEO voltage(less than 200 V)in NaF electrolyte,which decreased further as the NaF concentration increased.A micro/nano-structured coating with 10-15μm pits and 200-800 nm pores was formed in NaF electrolyte;the morphology was different from the typical pancake structure obtained with other electrolytes.The coating formed in NaF electrolyte had low surface roughness and was thin(<4μm).The NaF concentration had a small effect on the phase transition from metastable anatase phase to stable rutile phase,but greatly affected the corrosion resistance.In general,as the NaF concentration increased,the surface roughness,phase(anatase and rutile)contents,corrosion resistance,and thickness of the coating first increased and then decreased,reaching the maximum values at 0.25 mol/L NaF.

Preparation of Material Surface Structure Similarto Hydrophobic Structure of Lotus Leaf

Nano/micro replication, a technique widely applied in the microelectronics field, was introduced to prepare the hydrophobic bionics microstructure on material surface. Poly（vinyl alcohol） （PVA） and polystyrene （PS） moulds of the mastoid microstructure on lotus leaf surface were prepared respectively by the nano/micro replication technology. And poly（dimethylsiloxane） （PDMS） replicas with the mastoid-like microstructure were prepared from these two kinds of polymer moulds. Scanning electronic microscope （SEM） was employed to investigate the morphology and microstructures on moulds and replicas. Both the static and dynamic contact angles between water droplet and PDMS replicas＇ surface were also measured. As a result, similar microstructure can be observed clearly on the surface of PDMS replicas and the static contact angle on PDMS replicas was enhanced dramatically by the existence of these microstructures.

Construction and Properties of Structure-and Size-controlled Micro/Nano-energetic Materials

The recent research progress of structure- and size-controlled micro/nano-energetic materials is reviewed, which properties are fundamentally different from those of their corresponding bulk materials. The development of the construction strategies for achieving zero-dimensional (0D), one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) micro/nanostructures from energetic molecules is introduced. Also, an overview of the unique properties induced by micro/nanostructures and size effects is provided. Special emphasis is focused on the size-dependent properties that are different from those of the conventional micro-sized energetic materials, such as thermal decomposition, sensitivity, combustion and detonation, and compaction behaviors. A conclusion and our view of the future development of micro/nano-energetic materials and devices are given.

Underwater persistent bubble-assisted femtosecond laser ablation for hierarchical micro/nanostructuring

In this study,we demonstrate a technique termed underwater persistent bubble assisted femtosecond laser ablation in liquids(UPB-fs-LAL)that can greatly expand the boundaries of surface micro/nanostructuring through laser ablation because of its capability to create concentric circular macrostructures with millimeter-scale tails on silicon substrates.Long-tailed macrostructures are composed of layered fan-shaped(central angles of 45°–141°)hierarchical micro/nanostructures,which are produced by fan-shaped beams refracted at the mobile bubble interface(.50°light tilt,referred to as the vertical incident direction)during UPB-fs-LAL line-by-line scanning.Marangoni flow generated during UPB-fs-LAL induces bubble movements.Fast scanning(e.g.1mms−1)allows a long bubble movement(as long as 2mm),while slow scanning(e.g.0.1mms−1)prevents bubble movements.When persistent bubbles grow considerably(e.g.hundreds of microns in diameter)due to incubation effects,they become sticky and can cause both gas-phase and liquidphase laser ablation in the central and peripheral regions of the persistent bubbles.This generates low/high/ultrahigh spatial frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures(LSFLs/HSFLs/UHSFLs)with periods of 550–900,100–200,40–100 nm,which produce complex hierarchical surface structures.A period of 40 nm,less than 1/25th of the laser wavelength(1030 nm),is the finest laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)ever created on silicon.The NIR-MIR reflectance/transmittance of fan-shaped hierarchical structures obtained by UPB-fs-LAL at a small line interval(5μm versus 10μm)is extremely low,due to both their extremely high light trapping capacity and absorbance characteristics,which are results of the structures’additional layers and much finer HSFLs.In the absence of persistent bubbles,only grooves covered with HSFLs with periods larger than 100 nm are produced,illustrating the unique attenuation abilities of laser properties(e.g.repetition rate,energy,incident angle,etc)by persistent bubbles with different curvatures.This research represents a straightforward and cost-effective approach to diversifying the achievable hierarchical micro/nanostructures for a multitude of applications.