Silver nanoparticles (NPs) are known to provide antimicrobial properties for surfaces. However, there are environmental concerns due to reports of toxicity after exposure to the environment during or after end-use. Immobilizing silver NPs to the surface of substrates could ensure that particles are readily available for antibacterial activity with limited environmental exposure. A plasma coating on top of silver NPs could improve the adhesion of NPs to a substrate, but it could also impede the release of silver NPs completely. Furthermore, silver has been shown to require direct contact to demonstrate antibacterial activity. This study demonstrates immobilization of silver NPs with plasma coating onto a surface while maintaining its antibacterial properties. Silver NPs are simultaneously synthesized and deposited onto a surface with liquid flame spray aerosol technique followed by hexamethyldisiloxane plasma coating to immobilize the NPs. Atomic force microscope scratch testing is used to demonstrate improved nanoparticle adhesion. Antibacterial activity against gram-negative Escherichia coli is maintained even for plasma coating thicknesses of 195 nm. NP adhesion to the surface is significantly improved. Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus was found be resistant to all the plasma-coated samples. The results show promise of using plasma coating technology for limiting NP exposure to environment.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a chemical compound of great interest used, for example, as photocatalyst in the purification of wastewater or polluted air. However, neither dissolution, nor photo-dissolution of ZnO is negligible: indeed, both processes reduce significantly the efficiency of photocatalysis and then lead to a secondary pollution by free Zn 2 +. In the present study, the stability of ZnMgO thin films in weak alkaline solution is investigated. We demonstrate that the replacement of Zn 2 + ion with Mg 2 + ion results in the production of a Zn 0.84Mg 0.16O solid solution, whose stability is higher than that of the ZnO sample. This alloy, thus, constitutes an alternative to the use of ZnO in photocatalysis applications. To gain more insights into the higher resistance of such alloys to the dissolution process, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were performed. They highlighted the role of OH group adsorption in the experimentally observed enhancement of ZnMgO stability.

A Russian Doll encapsulation architecture utilizing pairs of free-standing barrier films and epoxy seals separated by nitrogen spacers is presented, enabling the use of low-cost epoxy to attach two or more free-standing barrier films to a substrate with improved barrier performance. The performance of various Russian Doll encapsulations was evaluated with the calcium thin film optical transmission test, showing improved performance of the Russian doll configuration relative to a non-nested barrier/spacer architecture, and demonstrating that water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) of 0.00021 g/(m 2, day) or below can be achieved with low-cost materials in this architecture. This WVTR correlates to a predicted lifetime of more than 10 years for bulk heterojunction solar cell modules fabricated and tested by Konarka Technologies (Lowell, MA, USA)..

Aluminosilicate (Al–Si–O) thin films containing up to 31 at.% Al and 23 at.% Si were prepared by reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering. Mechanical and structural properties were measured by indentation and specular reflectance infrared spectroscopy at varying Si sputtering target power and substrate temperature in the range 100 to 500 °C. It was found that an increased substrate temperature and Al/Si ratio give denser structure and consequently higher hardness (7.4 to 9.5 GPa) and higher reduced elastic modulus (85 to 93 GPa) while at the same time lower crack resistance (2.6 to 0.9 N). The intensity of the infrared Si-O-Si/Al asymmetric stretching vibrations shows a linear dependence with respect to Al concentration. The Al–O–Al vibrational band (at 1050 cm−1) shifts towards higher wavenumbers with increasing Al concentration which indicates a decrease of the bond length, evidencing denser structure and higher residual stress, which is supported by the increased hardness. The same Al–O–Al vibrational band (at 1050 cm−1) shifts towards lower wavenumber with increasing substrate temperature indicating an increase in the average coordination number of Al.

(CoCrFeNi)1−xMox thin films with various Mo content (0–10 at.%) were grown by magnetron sputtering on a stainless steel substrate. The films with 0–2 at.% presented two crystal structures: one FCC phase and one sigma phase, while films with higher Mo content only had the FCC structure. All films have a (111) texture and follow the topography of the substrate. The corrosion resistance of the films was evaluated in 0.05 M H2SO4 at room temperature and at 80 °C. It was observed that the corrosion current densities considerably decreased for Mo > 2 at%, and that the current densities were higher at the elevated temperature. Scanning Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy showed a large potential difference between the main FCC phase and sigma phase for the Mo0–2 films. This would suggest that preferential dissolution of the FCC phase occurs over the sigma and reduces the corrosion resistance. Such preferential dissolution does not occur for the higher Mo content films with only the FCC phase. The high corrosion resistance was also attributed to the inhibition of Fe and Cr dissolution by Mo and the stabilisation of the Cr enriched oxide by incorporating Mo oxides into the passive film, identified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The low corrosion current densities (below 1 µA/cm2) make these thin films possible candidates for protective coatings of bipolar plates in PEM fuel cells. 

In the current paper we present a concept combining metal organic chemical vapor deposition with thermal strengthening process of flat glass. As the flat glass is heated to be thermally strengthened, which takes up to 20 minutes, there is an opportunity for performing a surface modification. We describe the application of transparent and amorphous Al₂O₃ thin films during the thermal strengthening process. Al₂O₃ was chosen due to the following desirable properties: increased surface mechanical properties and increased chemical durability, the latter has not been investigated in the current paper. The residual surface compressive stresses after performed strengthening of the coated glasses were quantified to be in the range of 80–110 MPa. The Al₂O₃ content in the surface was measured using the Surface Ablation Cell employed with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy and found to be at least doubled at the surface and having an increased Al₂O₃ content at least 0.5 μm underneath the glass surface. During the surface reaction, sodium is migrating to the surface giving a hazy salt layer on the glass which can easily be washed off with water. The applied coatings are transparent and provide increased surface hardness and crack resistance at low indentation loads. At higher indentation loads the interaction volume is larger and displays the same effect on the surface mechanical properties as for thermally strengthened glass. The contact angle with water compared to annealed float glass is significantly increased from 5° to 45° due to the different surface chemistry and surface topography.

Electrochemical measurements, in situ and ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) analysis were performed to investigate the formation and stability as well as corrosion protection properties of mussel adhesive protein (Mefp-1) films on carbon steel, and the influence of cross-linking by NaIO 4 oxidation. The in situ AFM measurements show flake-like adsorbed protein aggregates in the film formed at pH 9. The ex situ AFM images indicate multilayer-like films and that the film becomes more compact and stable in NaCl solution after the cross-linking. The IRAS results reveal the absorption bands of Mefp-1 on carbon steel before and after NaIO 4 induced oxidation of the pre-adsorbed protein. Within a short exposure time, a certain corrosion protection effect was noted for the pre-formed Mefp-1 film in 0.1 M NaCl solution. Cross-linking the pre-adsorbed film by NaIO 4 oxidation significantly enhanced the protection efficiency by up to 80%.