Novel Nanostructured MnO_2 Prepared by Pulse Electrodeposition:Characterization and Electrokinetics

Pulse current technique was applied for the preparation of novel electroactive manganese dioxide and possible influences of different electrokinetic phenomena on material characteristics were discussed. The characterizations of pulse deposited sample （pcMD） were carried out by different techniques： Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET） method, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. SEM image revealed that pulse current could improve the current distribution. This was confirmed by AFM images showing a decrease in surface roughness of pcMDs in comparison to amorphous samples, which were deposited by direct current （dcMD）. Higher distortion of MnO6 octahedral environment of dcMD was detected by FTJR and Raman spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetric （CV） measurements showed a generally higher energy level drained from the second electron discharge of pcMD. This is mainly attributed to a higher surface area and a lower diffusion pass of electrons and protons arisen via a rather unique nanostructural arrangement of pcMD grains. Results indicate a higher surface area available for the non homogenous second electron discharge of pcMD grains.

Study on the Structures and Properties of Ni-W-B-CeO_2 Composite Coatings Prepared by Pulse Electrodeposition

The aim of this research is to pulse co-deposit nano-CeO2 particles into Ni-W-B alloy coatings in order to improve the surface properties. The influence of pulse frequency and duty circle on deposition rate, microhardness and microstructures, and the influence of heat treatment temperature on phase structures, microhardness and abrasivity of Ni-W-B-CeO2 composite coatings were investigated. The results indicated that the pulse co-deposition of nickel, tungsten, boron and nano-CeO2 particle from the bath which nano-CeO2 particle was suspended by high speed mechanical stirring led to the Ni-W-B-CeO2 composite coatings, possessing better microhardness and abrasion resistance when heat-treated at 400 ℃ for 1 h. The microhardness as-deposited with 636 Hz and the deposition rate with 0.0281 mm·h-1 was the highest at pulse frequency with 1000 Hz and pulse duty circle with 10%. Microstructures analysis displays that decreasing pulse duty cycle leads to refinement in grain structures and the improvement of microstructures. X-ray diffraction shows that the composite coating as-deposited was mainly in the amorphous state and partially crystallized, but when heat treated at 400 ℃, the crystallization trend was strengthened further.

Effect of Rare Earth on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Pulse Reversal Current Electrodeposition Ni-Co Alloy Coatings

The effect of adding RE to plating bath on microstructure and corrosion resistance of Ni-Co alloy coatings prepared by pulse reversal current electrodeposition was studied by means of SEM/EDS, electrochemical analysis and corrosion mass loss etc. The results show that adding proper RE to plating solution can promote the microstructure of coatings compacter, the surface smoother and the crystal finer, and improve the corrosion resistance. The coatings exhibite the highest corrosion resistance when the concentration of RE reaches 0.25 g·L -1. The reason of increasing corrosion resistance by adding RE was also investigated.

Pulse Electrodeposition and Nanoindentation Test of ZrO_2/Ni Nanocomposite

ZrO2/Ni nanocomposite was produced via pulse electrodeposition using a nickel sulfmate bath. The effects of main factors including pH value, temperature T, current density Dk and ZrO2 content p on the electrodeposit were dealt with by the Taguchi method. Experimental results show that the current density and ZrO2 content affect the electrodepositing process significantly. Nanocomposite with an average grain size of about 50 nm and ZrO2 content of up to 0.4 wt% was produced under the optimal condition. The Young＇s modulus of the achieved composite is similar to that of polycrystalline Ni. The microhardness is much higher than that of common pure Ni, primarily due to the ultrafine grains of Ni matrix by the Hall-Petch mechanism. The homogeneous dispersion of stiff ZrO2 particles in the Ni matrix acting as dislocation pinning and microcrack pinning also results in the strengthening effect.

Effects of rare earth on microstructures and properties of Ni-W-P-CeO_2-SiO_2 nano-composite coatings

Ni-W-P-CeO2-SiO2 nano-composite coatings were prepared on common carbon steel surface by pulse electrodeposition of nickel, tungsten, phosphorus, rare earth （nano-CeO2） and silicon carbide （nano-SiO2） particles. The effects of nano-CeO2 concentrations in electrolyte on microstructures and properties of nano-composite coatings were studied. The samples were characterized with chemical compositions, elements distributions, microhardness and microstructures. The results indicated that when nano-CeO2 concentration was controlled at 10 g/L, the nano-composite coatings possessed higher microhardness and compact microstmctures with clear outline of spherical matrix metal crystallites, fine crystallite sizes and uniform distribution of elements W, P, Ce and Si within the Ni-W-P matrix metal. Increasing the nano-CeO2 particles concentrations from 4 to 10 g/L led to refinement in grain structure and improvement of microstructures, while when increased to 14 g/L, the crystallite sizes began to increase again and there were a lot of small boss with nodulation shape appearing on the nano-composite coatings surface.

Electrochemical Deposition and Properties of ZnTe Nanowire Array

Pulsed electrodeposited technique is applied to fabricate ZnTe nanowire arrays with different diameters into the anodic alumina membrane in citric acid solution. The x-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicate that the high ordered, uniform and single-crystalline nanowires have been fabricated. The optical absorption spectra of the nanowire array show that the optical absorption band edge of the ZnTe nanowire array exhibit a blue shift compared with that of bulk ZnTe, and the nonlinear current-voltage characteristic is observed.

Quantized Nanocrystalline CdTe Thin Films

Nanocrystalline CdTe thin films were prepared by asymmetric rectangular pulse electrodeposition in organic solution at 110 degreesC. STM image shows a porous network morphology constructed by interconnected spherical CdTe crystallites with a mean diameter of 4.2 nm. A pronounced size quantization was indicated in the action and absorption spectra. Potentials dependence dual conductive behavior was revealed in the photocurrent-potential (I-V) curves.

Study on characteristics of Ni-W-B composites containing CeO_2 nano-particles prepared by pulse electrodeposition

Ni-W-B composites containing CeO2 nano-particles on the surface of 45 steel were prepared by pulse electrodeposition,and the in-fluence of pulse frequency,pulse duty circle and heat treatment temperature on the structures and properties were investigated.The results in-dicated that the pulse co-deposition of Ni,W,B and CeO2 nano-particles led to Ni-W-B/CeO2 composites possessing higher microhardness and better wear resistance when heat-treated at 400 oC for 1 h.The microhardness of 636 HV and the deposition rate of 0.0281 mm/h of the as-deposited alloy were the highest at pulse frequency of 1000 Hz,pulse duty circle of 10% and pulse average current density of 10 A/dm2.The composites were mainly in the amorphous state and were partially crystallized as-deposited,and the crystallization trend was strength-ened when heat-treated at 400 oC.Decreasing pulse duty cycle from 75% to 10% was favorable to the refinement in grain structures and im-provement of microstructures.The crystal sizes of the composites were smaller by means of pulse electrodeposition.

Probe into deposition mechanism of double pulse electrodepositing Ni-W-P matrix composite coatings containing CeO_2 and SiO_2 nano-particles

Ni-W-P matrix composite coatings reinforced by CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles were prepared on common carbon steel surface by double pulse electrodeposition and the deposition mechanism was discussed.The results showed that the composite coatings with amorphous structure were obtained as-deposited.The initial growth behavior had alternatives and the nucleation was inhomogeneous because of obvious composition fluctuation.With the pulse deposition time increasing,some pearlite microstructures of the substrate were covered by some deposits and the composition fluctuation disappeared.Forward pulse currents promoted to form a great number of atomic beams composed of Ni,W and P atoms or CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles as the core,which inhabited the growth of atomic beams.Reverse pulse currents eliminated concentration polarization and dissolved some surface boss of atomic beams.The solution of W and P atoms within Ni grains and embedding of CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles within Ni-W-P matrix metal made atomic arrangement disordered.Finally,the atomic beams grew to amorphous small particles.

Characterization and corrosion property of nano-rod-like HA on fluoride coating supported on Mg-Zn-Ca alloy×

The poor corrosion resistance of biodegradable magnesium alloys is the dominant factor that limits theirclinical application. In this study, to deal with this challenge, fluoride coating was prepared on MgeZneCa alloy as the inner coating and then hydroxyapatite (HA) coating as the outer coating was depositedon fluoride coating by pulse reverse current electrodeposition (PRC-HA/MgF2). As a comparative study,the microstructure and corrosion properties of the composite coating with the outer coating fabricatedby traditional constant current electrodeposition (TED-HA/MgF2) were also investigated. Scanningelectron microscopy (SEM) images of the coatings show that the morphology of PRC-HA/MgF2 coating isdense and uniform, and presents nano-rod-like structure. Compared with that of TED-HA/MgF2, thecorrosion current density of Mg alloy coated with PRC-HA/MgF2 coatings decreases from 5.72× 10^-5 A/cm2 to 4.32× 10^-7 A/cm^2, and the corrosion resistance increases by almost two orders of magnitude. Inimmersion tests, samples coated with PRC-HA/MgF2 coating always show the lowest hydrogen evolutionamount, and could induce deposition of the hexagonal structure-apatite on the surface rapidly. Theresults show that the corrosion resistance and the bioactivity of the coatings have been improved byadopting double-pulse current mode in the process of preparing HA on fluoride coating, and the PRC-HA/MgF2 coating is worth of further investigation.

Effect of Microstructures on Corrosion Behavior of Nickel Coatings:(Ⅰ) Abnormal Grain Size Effect on Corrosion Behavior

Nickel coatings with different microstructures were synthesized by pulse jet electrodeposition technique.Their morphology and microstructure were investigated by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）.The corrosion property of the coatings was studied by using polarization,electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS）,potential of zero free charge（PZFC） measurements and Mott-Schottky（M-S） relationship.The results showed that the coating with grain size of 50 nm possessed higher corrosion resistance than that with grain size of 10 nm.This abnormal behavior may be related to the existence of nanoscale twins in the coatings and the lower concentration of acceptor in the passive films.

Strontium doped electrospinning fiber membrane with antibacterial and osteogenic properties prepared by pulse electrochemical method

The osteogenic differentiation and new bone formation are commonly delayed by bacterial infection of orthopedic implants,which is urgent to be resolved quickly in the clinic.The current paper prepared a strontium-doped elec-trospinning fiber membrane with antibacterial and osteogenic properties by pulse electrochemical method.Poly-lactic acid/hydroxyapatite(PLLA/HA)composite fiber substrate was fabricated by electrospinning technology,and strontium doped SrHA/Cu/Polypyrrole(PPy)composite coating was constructed with pulse electrodeposi-tion method on its surface.The strontium doping technique,degradation of Sr^(2+)and Cu^(2+),cellular compatibility,and the antibacterial activity of the fiber membrane were examined.The results revealed that the deposition of phosphorus and calcium on composite fiber was the highest,indicating good biological activity.The release of Sr^(2+)and Cu^(2+)was stable and gradual due to the modulation of PPy.The composite fiber presented excellent antibacterial performance and the antibacterial rate was close to 100%against Staphylococcus aureus and Es-cherichia coli.Furthermore,it is conducive to the adhesion,spread,and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells and osteoblasts,namely outstanding osteogenesis and angiogenesis abilities.In conclusion,the multifunctional PLLA/HA@SrHA/Cu/PPy composite fiber membrane with good antibacterial and osteogenic activity by electro-spinning technology and pulsed electrochemical deposition method provides an effective strategy for the poor bone healing of infected bone defects.