使用磁控溅射法制备在金属材料表面制备涂层的种类、性能及其应用

No abstract available

Oil–water separation using porous superhydrophilic materials is a promising method to circumvent the issue of oil-polluted water by separating water from oil–water mixtures. However, fabricating metal-based porous superhydrophilic materials with stable superhydrophilicity that can recover their strong hydrophilicity and have acceptable oil–water separation efficiency without complex external stimuli is still a challenge. Inspired by the anti-wetting behavior of broccoli buds, this study successfully fabricated metal-based superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic porous materials by hydrothermal treatment of stainless steel meshes (SSMs) combined with magnetron sputtering of metallic Ti and W. The process was then followed with annealing at 300 °C for 4 hours. The effects of coating materials, annealing temperature, and surface structure on the wetting behavior of the prepared meshes were studied and analyzed. The modified meshes exhibited unique broccoli-like microstructures coated with thin TiO2−xNx/WO3 films and showed superhydrophilicity with a 0° water contact angle (WCA) and underwater superoleophobicity with underwater oil contact angles (UOCAs) higher than 155°. They also maintained strong hydrophilicity for more than three weeks with WCAs of less than 13°. Besides, they could recover their initial superhydrophilicity with a 0° WCA after post-annealing at 80 °C for 30 minutes. Notably, the broccoli-like structures and the strong hydrophilic coatings contributed to a significant water flow rate (Q) of 3650 L m−2 h−1 and satisfactory oil–water separation efficiency of 98% for more than 15 separation cycles toward various oil–water mixtures. We believe that the presented method and fabricated material are promising and can be applied to induce hydrophilicity of various metallic materials for practical applications of oil–water separation, anti-fouling, microfluidic transport, and water harvesting.

In this work, a metal–ceramic composite target for magnetron sputtering was manufactured by a robotic complex for detonation spraying of coatings equipped with a multi-chamber detonation accelerator. The powder composition (30Mo-30Al-40B4C) was sprayed onto the copper plate base of the composite target cathode. The obtained cathode target with Al-Mo-B4C coating (thickness 280–300 μm) was used to deposit the Al-Mo-B(CN) coating (DC mode) on flat specimens of AISI 316 steel and silicon using equipment for magnetron sputtering UNICOAT 200. The Al-Mo-B4C coating has a lamella-type structure with inclusions of boron carbide particles. The structure and morphology of the coatings were studied using methods of optical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Mechanical and tribological properties of the Al-Mo-B(CN) thin coatings were studied using a nanoindenter, a scratch tester, and a tribometer under a fluid-free friction regime at room temperature. The Al-Mo-B(CN) coating (thickness ~1 μm) exhibited a dense homogeneous fine-grained design without columnar elements and had an amorphous structure. The formation of the MoB2 and AlN phase with an admixture of oxygen in the form of aluminum oxide, molybdenum oxide, and boron oxide was determined using XPS analysis. The Al-Mo-B(CN) coating possessed a hardness of 13 GPa, an elasticity modulus of 114 GPa, an elastic recovery of 45%, a friction coefficient of 0.8 against a steel 100 Cr6 ball, and an adhesion strength of 11 N.

A metal–ceramic composite target for magnetron sputtering was fabricated for the first time by a robotic complex for the detonation spraying of coatings equipped with a multi-chamber detonation accelerator. A mixture of metal and ceramic NiCr/B4C powders was sprayed onto the copper base of the cylindrical composite target cathode. The study of the structure of a metal–ceramic composite coating target using scanning electron microscopy showed that the coating material is dense without visible pores; the elemental composition is evenly distributed in the material. The study of the cathode sputtering area after deposition in the DC mode showed that there are uniform traces of annular erosion on the target surface. The obtained cathode target with an NiCr-70B4C coating was used to deposit the NiB-Cr7C3 coating on flat specimens of 65G steel using equipment for magnetron sputtering UNICOAT 200. The coating was applied in the Direct Current mode. A dense NiB-Cr7C3 coating with a thickness of 2 μm was obtained. The NiB-Cr7C3 coating has a quasi-amorphous structure. The microstructures and concentration of oxygen and carbon impurities throughout the entire thickness of the coating were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. The results of the study show that the coatings have a nanocrystalline multi-phase structure. The microhardness of the NiB-Cr7C3 coating reached 10 GPa, and the adhesion fracture load exceeded 16 N. The results will open up new prospects for the further elaboration of technology for obtaining original composite cathodes for magnetron sputtering using detonation spraying of coatings.

Silver is an elegant white precious metal, but it is easily oxidized by O3, SO2, and H2S in the air, turning yellow or dark, which affects its decorative effect. The existing silver coating, primarily prepared through the electroplating process, poses serious environmental pollution problems. It is necessary to seek new, green, and environmentally friendly coating processes while also enhancing the color palette of silver jewelry coatings. Titanium film layers were deposited on Ag925 and Ag999 surfaces using magnetron sputtering coating technology. The effects of sputtering time, substrate surface state, reaction gas type and time, and film thickness on the color of the film layers were studied, and the anti discoloration performance of the obtained film layers under the optimal process was tested. The experimental results show that when the sputtering time varies from 5 to 10 minutes, injecting argon, oxygen, and nitrogen into the coating chamber yields rich colors such as purple with a red tint, blue, yellow green, yellowish purple, and blue purple. The precise control of gas injection time has a significant impact on the color of the film layer. In terms of anti tarnish performance, the film showed good stability in the artificial sweat immersion test. From an environmental perspective, the magnetron sputtering titanium film process has no harmful gas or liquid emissions, which aligns with the sustainable development trend of the jewelry industry and holds great promise for application. This study has improved the visual effect and practical performance of the product, providing important theoretical basis and experimental data support for the application of environmentally friendly silver surface vacuum magnetron sputtering titanium thin film coating technology.

In recent years, there have been important developments in the refractory metal nitride coatings used for versatile applications, such as MoN, TaN, NbN, etc. Engineered approaches, including the deposition method, microstructure control, structural design, and the addition of functional elements, are put into practice for the promotion of coating characteristics. This study focuses on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ternary molybdenum tantalum nitride, MoTaN, coatings. MoTaN was deposited using a reactive radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron co-sputtering system with Mo/Ta target input power modulation control. The effects of composition and microstructure variations on its mechanical properties, including its hardness, elastic modulus, and wear behavior, were investigated. In general, the MoTaN coatings exhibited a columnar polycrystalline microstructure with MoN(111), Mo2N(111), Mo2N(200), TaN(200), and TaN(220) phases and orientations based on X-ray diffraction analysis. The addition of Ta triggered the transition of the primary orientation of Mo2N(111) into Mo2N(200). Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to analyze the transformation of the multiphase structure and changes in the grain size in terms of the Ta addition. According to nanoindentation and wear resistance analyses, superior hardness, elastic modulus, H/E, H3/E2, and wear-resistance values were identified for the MoTaN coatings with 6.8 to 10.4 at.% Ta, and a maximum hardness of 18.0 GPa was found for the MoTaN coating deposited at an input power of Mo/Ta = 150/100 W/W. An optimized hardness of 18.0 GPa and an elastic modulus of 220.7 GPa were obtained. The adjustment of the input power during deposition played a critical role in determining the overall performance of the MoTaN co-sputtering coatings. The MoTaN coating with optimized mechanical properties is attributed to its multiphase microstructure and fine columnar grain size of less than 30 nm.

The use of magnetron sputtering systems with extended uncooled targets will allow developing industrial import-substituting technologies for the formation of thermal barrier coatings, based on zirconium oxide doped with rare earth metal oxides to solve urgent problems of gas turbine construction. This paper presents the results of comparing the technology for producing thermal barrier coatings by magnetron sputtering, with two types of extended targets made of Zr–8%Y alloy – a widely used cooled target and an uncooled extended target, of a magnetron sputtering system developed by the authors. This paper gives a comparison of the results of mass-spectrometric studies of the hysteresis of the oxygen partial pressure inherent in the technology for producing oxide films; the influence of the target type on the coating growth rate; studies of the structure of thermal barrier coatings using the scanning electron microscopy method; and the elemental composition of coatings based on zirconium dioxide partially stabilised with yttrium oxide – YSZ. It has been experimentally found that increasing the temperature of the magnetron sputtering system target, allows decreasing the loop width of the characteristic hysteresis of the oxygen partial pressure dependence on its flow rate by 2 times. The obtained dependencies allowed determining the range of oxygen flow rates at various magnetron discharge powers, at which the work can be performed with stable and sustainable process control, without the risk of falling into hysteresis. The conducted metallographic studies showed a characteristic developed porous dendritic structure of the ceramic layer, which is necessary to reduce the thermal conductivity coefficient of the thermal barrier coating. It has been revealed that the use of an uncooled target allows increasing the deposition rate of the thermal barrier coating by more than 10 times compared to the deposition rate for a cooled target. The obtained results demonstrate the possibility of using the magnetron sputtering technology of an extended uncooled target to form a ceramic layer of thermal barrier coatings.

The literature analysis did not indicate any studies on fluorination tests of carbon nanocomposite coatings doped with transition metals in a form of nanocrystalline metal carbide in amorphous carbon matrix (nc-MeC/a-C). As a model coating to investigate the effect of fluorination in a tetrafluoromethane (CF4) atmosphere, a nanocomposite carbon coating doped with chromium-forming nanocrystals of chromium carbides in a-C matrix (nc-CrC/a-C) produced by magnetron sputtering from graphite targets and using a Pulse-DC type medium frequency power supply was chosen. After the deposition of the gradient chromium carbonitride (CrCN) adhesive sublayer, the fluorination of the main coating was conducted in a reactive mode in an (Ar + CF4) atmosphere at various CF4 content. It was observed that the presence of CF4 in the atmosphere resulted in a reduced amount of chromium carbides formed in favor of chromium fluorides. Thus far, this is an observation that seems unnoticed by the carbon coatings researchers. Fluorine was assumed to bond much more readily to carbon than to chromium, due to the stability of tetrafluoromethane (CF4). The opposite seems to be true. The mechanical properties (nano-hardness and Young’s modulus) and tribological properties in the ‘pin-on-disc’ friction pair are presented, along with the analysis of bonds occurring between chromium, carbon, and fluorine by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

In the modern world, metals play an invaluable role in various industries. Medical engineering has become an important area of development in modern metallurgy. The disadvantage of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is microbial colonization on its surface, as well as the release of toxic aluminum and vanadium metals into the surrounding tissues, so research on improving the anti-corrosion and antibacterial properties of Ti6Al4V alloy is currently a serious problem. Two-component metal coatings based on Cu-Ta and Cu-Nb were obtained by magnetron sputtering with joint spraying of targets made of pure metals Cu, Nb, Ta. It was found that coatings with a thickness of 10 microns demonstrated a different degree of antimicrobial efficacy during two days of testing: the maximum inhibition zone of the Ta-Cu coating reached 24.0 mm for S. Aureus and 17.0 mm for C. Albicans. For the Nb-Cu coating with a thickness of 10 microns, the maximum inhibition zone reached 25.0 mm for S. Aureus and 15.5 mm for C. Albicans. It has been shown that with the same thickness, Ta-Cu coatings are better suited to protect the endoprosthe-sis from microbial infections than Nb-Cu coatings. Keywords: magnetron, metals, alloy, coating, copper.

Due to the small assembly gap between precision mechanical transmission parts, it is difficult to use lubricating media to reduce friction and prolong life. At present, the preparation of anti-friction lubrication coating on the surface of parts is a more effective means. The amorphous carbon coating has the advantages of simple preparation process, low deposition temperature and excellent anti-friction and wear properties. Amorphous carbon coating is early spalled because of internal stress accumulation. According to the principle of material preparation that the internal stress of amorphous coating can be reduced by the growth of amorphous and nanocrystalline synchronously, and a few doped metal elements aggregate and crystallize at the interface of amorphous carbon clusters driven by cohesive energy to spontaneously or combine with reactive gas to form high-density linear nanocrystals, thus inhibiting the peeling off of carbon clusters during wear process. The effect of the graphite target voltage on the microstructure and mechanical properties of graphite-like carbon (GLC) coatings was investigated. The microstructure of the coatings was characterized by Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The properties of the coatings were measured by nanoindentation and ball and disc tribometer. The results showed that the deposition rate and the percentage of sp2 bond increased obviously with increase of the graphite target voltage. The hardness increased to maximum (11.4 GPa) at the graphite target voltage of 700 V, which was related to high sp3 /sp2 bonding ratio. Moreover, the internal stress and coefficient of friction (COF) value decreased firstly and then increased slightly as the graphite target voltage increased from 640 to 720 V. The minimum COF and specific wear rate of the GLC coatings were obtained at the graphite target voltage of 700 V.

The paper presents the results of obtaining tantalum films with a thickness of 200– 900 nm on titanium using DC magnetron sputtering. As a result, a high-strength “Ti-base – Ta-coating” structure with a hardness of at least 2040±150 HV (20.01±1.47 GPa) was produced. The subsequent modification with high-frequency currents provided an increase in hardness to 3694±443 HV (36.23±4.35 GPa), which was associated with the formation of a thin oxide layer of TaOx with a tantalum concentration of 74.1–75.2 wt.% and oxygen of about 12.5– 13.9 wt.%.

The functional properties of the transition-metal nitride coatings can be modified by adding noble metals such as silver. The incorporation of these elements has been demonstrated to be a good strategy for improving the electrical, optical, and mechanical responses of transition-metal nitride coatings. In this investigation, we report the production of Ag-ZrSiN coatings with varying silver atomic contents, deposited using pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of the incorporation of silver on the microstructure, the morphology, and the optical and electrical properties was investigated. The results revealed a nanocomposite structure of Ag-ZrSiN with nc-Ag/nc-ZrN embedded in an amorphous SiNx phase. The electrical resistivity decreased upon the incorporation of Ag from 77.99 Ω·cm to 0.71 Ω·cm for 0.0 and 12.0 at.% of Ag, respectively. A similar decreasing trend was observed in the transmittance spectra of the coatings as the silver content increased. For the Ag-ZrSiN coating, the transmittance values decreased within the wavelength range of 2500–630 nm and then remained constant down to 300 nm, at about 13.7%. Upon further increase of the silver concentration up to 12 at.%, the transmittance values continued to decrease between 2500 and 630 nm, reaching approximately zero at 630 nm, indicating that the coating becomes opaque within that spectral range.

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Inside a spacecraft, the temperature and humidity, suitable for the human crew onboard, also creates an ideal breeding environment for the proliferation of bacteria and fungi; this can present a hazard to human health and create issues for the safe running of equipment. To address this issue, wear-resistant antimicrobial thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering were developed, with the aim to coat key internal components within spacecrafts. Silver and copper are among the most studied active bactericidal materials, thus this work investigated the antibacterial properties of amorphous carbon coatings, doped with either silver, silver and copper, or with silver clusters. The longevity of these antimicrobial coatings, which is heavily influenced by metal diffusion within the coating, was also investigated. With a conventional approach, amorphous carbon coatings were prepared by cosputtering, to generate coatings that contained a range of silver and copper concentrations. In addition, coatings containing silver clusters were prepared using a separate cluster source to better control the metal particle size distribution in the amorphous carbon matrix. The particle size distributions were characterized by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Antibacterial tests were performed under both terrestrial gravity and microgravity conditions, to simulate the condition in space. Results show that although silver-doped coatings possess extremely high levels of antimicrobial activity, silver cluster-doped coatings are equally effective, while being more long-lived, despite containing a lower absolute silver concentration.

In this work, the TiN coatings on Ti6Al4V and Si substrates were deposited by magnetron sputtering. The effect of sputtering powers on structure and mechanical properties of the TiN coatings was investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns displayed a single phase of face centered cubic structure. Scanning electron microscope observations found that the particle morphology of the TiN coatings changed from a leaf or flat-shaped structure to a tetrahedron faceted one, similar to a pyramid. The particle size and deposition rate increased with increasing sputtering power due to higher energy bombardment of ion gas to surface target. Furthermore, the highest hardness value (22,8 GPa ± 1,2 GPa) corresponds to the TiN coating deposited at 250 W power. Finally, the friction coefficient increased from 0,46 to 0,61 with increasing sputtering power from 150 to 300 W.

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This study investigated the effects of bias voltage on the microstructure, high-temperature oxidation resistance, electrical conductivity, element diffusion, and barrier of chromium poisoning cathode of Mn–Co coating on the surface of SOFCs metal interconnect SUS441 ferritic stainless steel. A series of Mn–Co coatings were prepared by magnetron sputtering technique at different bias voltages (−10, −50, −90 V) and oxidized at high temperatures for 175 h at 850 °C in an air environment. The results showed that the surface of each coating before oxidation exhibited a cauliflower-like morphology, with the crystallinity of the coating increasing with higher bias voltage. After high-temperature oxidation, especially the Mn–Co coatings prepared at −90 V bias, a dense and stable MnCo2O4 spinel structure was formed, which is crucial in inhibiting the growth of the Cr2O3 oxide layer. In addition, the coating also exhibits excellent electrical conductivity (Ea = 0.35 eV), good high-temperature oxidation resistance (1.182 mg cm−2), and a stronger ability to prevent the diffusion of Cr elements.

Calcium phosphate coatings are widely used to increase the biocompatibility of metal implants. Nowadays various dopants in the structure of calcium phosphate coatings are actively studied. Nitric oxygen is known as an essential mediator of blood flow. Its presence in the structure of calcium phosphate coating can stimulate angiogenesis and promote osseointegration of the implant. This article is dedicated to the study of morphology and physico-chemical properties of the calcium phosphate coatings formed via reactive RF-$$$magnetron sputtering of hydroxyapatite in the mixture of noble gases (Ne, Ar and Xe) and nitrogen with the same volume concentrations. There is a decrease in grain size and an increase in roughness with the growth of the atomic mass of noble gas in the mixture with nitrogen. The Ca/P ratio also decreases with the increase in the atomic mass of noble gas. Coatings formed in Ne + N2 and Xe + N2 gas mixtures are characterized by higher surface free energy in comparison with the ones formed in Ar + N2. It allows us to suggest that the coatings formed in Ne + N2 and Xe + N2 are more biocompatible than ones formed in Ar + N2, however, additional studies are needed to prove it.

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We have developed a HA nano-coating technology suitable for dental and orthopedic implants using RF magnetron sputtering method which can achieve excellent adhesion to titanium compared with other various PVD coating technologies. As a result, the HA thin film prepared by RF magnetron sputtering has a thickness of about 1.6 [μm] and its adhesion force to base metal is about 11.93 [N] or more and Ca/P ratio is about 1.64, which is suitable for dental and orthopedic implants.

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Magnesium, as one of the lightest metal structural materials, also has its advantages such as high specific strength, good electromagnetic shielding characteristics, good processability and easy recycling, so it has a wide application prospect. However, its poor insulation, corrosion resistance, wear resistance and other properties limited it to be an alloy that can be used in a large area. Therefore, how to improve the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of magnesium alloy is the key to promote the development of magnesium alloy field. This paper reviews the research progress of using magnetron sputtering technology to prepare ceramic composite film on the surface of magnesium alloy and briefly introduces the film corrosion resistance and wear resistance of the thin films. It analyzes the impact of metal transition layer, process parameters and other factors on structure and properties of metal / ceramic coatings and prospects for the development prospects of magnetron sputtering in the field of magnesium alloy surface protection.

Controlling the formation of oxygen vacancies (OVs) in metal oxide semiconductors (as the gas sensing material) is a significant important, that dominates the sensor's performances for the target of gas (sensitivity, repeatability, response time et al). In this study, we proposed a tilted fiber Bragg grating assisted hydrogen sensor with hybrid palladium and OVs-modified WO3 metal oxide semiconductors surface functionalization. The innovation of this work is that we propose an Ar plasma-etching technique to regulate OVs concentration in WO3 by adjusting magnetron sputtering power. The experimental results demonstrate that the signal-to-noise ratio of the proposed H2 sensor has been much improved, offering a limit of detection as low as 8 ppm together with a strongly enhanced reproducibility for dozens of repeat H2 measurements. This flexible coating technique offers a mass production way of high-quality specific material functionalization for various kinds of gas sensing.

This study employs magnetron sputtering technology to deposit metal films (Cu, Ni) on plastic-encapsulated devices for preparing conformal electromagnetic shielding materials. Through optimization of sputtering parameters and structural design of the shielding layers, reliable bonding between the shielding material and the plastic substrate was achieved. The results indicate that sputtering power significantly influences the film deposition rate. As the sputtering power increases, the deposition rate accelerates, grain size enlarges, and shielding effectiveness initially improves but subsequently declines. By controlling deposition time, a Ni/Cu/Ni-structured shielding layer was fabricated, achieving a maximum shielding effectiveness of 50 dB at 18 GHz. After 500 thermal shock cycles (-55°C to 125°C), the shielding cavity structure remained intact, with no significant reduction in shielding effectiveness. The adhesion between the plastic substrate and shielding layer met design requirements.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the most common method for treating salt and brackish water. As a membrane‐driven process, a key challenge for RO systems is their susceptibility to scaling and biofouling. To address these issues, functional coatings utilizing metal nanoparticles (MNPs) are developed. In this study, silver, gold, and copper nanoparticles are applied onto thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes using plasma‐enhanced magnetron sputtering. The elemental composition, surface morphology, and hydrophilicity of the coatings are analyzed using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements. The antimicrobial properties and the filtration efficiency of the coated membranes are assessed through application‐specific experimental setups. Silver and copper nanoparticles exhibit superior antimicrobial properties, reducing microorganism adhesion by a factor of 103 compared to uncoated membranes. Under appropriate coating conditions, no deterioration in filtration performance is observed. Enhancing the adhesion of MNPs is necessary for achieving sustained release of metal ions.

LiNixMnyCozO2 (x+y+z=1) is one of the most present and versatile positive active materials for lithium ion batteries due to comparatively high specific capacity and high operating potential. However, NMC materials are prone to various degradation effects including moisture uptake, formation of impurities at the particle surface and transition metal dissolution during charge/discharge cycling and/or at elevated temperatures. Beyond that, cation mixing can lead to phase transformation, oxygen evolution, particle cracking and particle disintegration. Therefore, an alumina coating was applied and optimized as protective interphase on LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC622) powders, using a specifically in‐house developed RF‐magnetron sputtering technique. The alumina coated NMC622 showed a 13% improvement in capacity retention after 200 charge/discharge cycles in lab‐scale cells, compared to pristine uncoated NMC622. Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the interfacial/interphasial resistance of pristine and alumina coated NCM622 based electrodes were explored to study the impact of the coating on lithium ion transport. Furthermore, the structural and thermal stability of cyclic aged NMC622 were analyzed via TEM, EELS and TGA. Therein, alumina coated samples demonstrated enhanced thermal stability, less structural degradation, and reduced particle cracking.

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(V,Mo)N is theoretically predicted to have high hardness and fracture toughness and is a promising material for the application on protective hard coatings. However, the toughness enhancement of (V,Mo)N coatings deposited by dc-unbalanced magnetron sputtering (dc-UBMS) was not as remarkable as expected. The issue could be due to insufficient energy delivery to the plasma species in the deposition process such that nitrogen and metal atoms were not fully reacted and led to the degradation of coating quality. Since high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) can provide high peak power density, the method was selected to deposit (V,Mo)N coatings in this research. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of duty cycle and nitrogen flow rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of (V,Mo)N coatings deposited on Si substrates by HPPMS. Four sets of (V,Mo)N coatings were deposited by HPPMS at different durations with two duty cycles, 5% and 3%, and two nitrogen flow rates, 6.0 and 12.0 SCCM. The results showed that the N/metal ratio was mainly affected by the nitrogen flow rate, ranging from 0.70 to 0.96 with increasing nitrogen flow rate. The lattice parameter of the samples linearly increased with the N/metal ratio. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed that all samples tended to approach (200)-preferred orientation with increasing deposition duration. The glancing incident XRD patterns indicated that the samples deposited at 6 SCCM nitrogen flow rate and 3% duty cycle have multiphases. Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed that phase separation from (V,Mo)N to (V-rich,Mo)N and (V,Mo-rich)N occurred in those samples. The hardness of the (V,Mo)N coatings decreased with increasing N/metal ratio, which may be related to the N-vacancy hardening effect. The sample deposited at 6 SCCM nitrogen flow rate and 3% duty cycle for 36 h showed the highest hardness of 28.4 GPa, which was possibly associated with the phase separation, and hence plastic deformation became difficult. The fracture toughness (Gc) of the (V,Mo)N coatings was evaluated using the internal energy-induced cracking method. The resultant Gc of the (V,Mo)N coatings, ranging from 36.1 to 43.7 J/m2, was higher than that of the coatings deposited by dc-UBMS in our previous study. The toughness enhancement could be caused by a higher fraction of Mo–N bonding due to the adequate reaction energy provided by the HPPMS process.

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In the present study, three kinds of functional wound dressings (Zn@Cotton, Ag@Cotton, and Ag/Zn@Cotton) were developed by template-assisted magnetron sputtering of cotton nonwovens. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry revealed a very thin, uniform silver oxides and zinc coating on the cotton cellulose microfibers, which was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction pattern, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The physical characteristics such as high swelling ability, moderate air and water vapor permeabilities, good mechanical properties, and excellent flexibility support the suitability of magnetron sputtering cotton nonwovens for wound dressing applications. Moreover, the Ag/Zn@Cotton showed effective antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of electrical stimulation and continuous release of Ag+/Zn2+. Meanwhile, benefiting from the low metal coating area percentage (17.54%), the Ag/Zn@Cotton exhibited good cytocompatibility. The in vitro and in vivo test show that Ag/Zn@Cotton can remarkably accelerate the wound healing process, which can be attributed to the enhanced cellular migration by electrical stimulation, strong antibacterial activity, good cytocompatibility, and excellent physical properties. Potentially, template-assisted magnetron sputtering may provide a simple, green, and sustainable alternative for the development of functional wound dressings.

Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), with a semi-trapezoidal topography, and glass samples were coated with a TiAlV film using magnetron sputtering in order to study its structure, chemical composition and the adhesion film properties on the polymer surfaces. The magnetron sputtering is a PVD technique that depending on the deposited parameter produces a coating with structural, chemical and specific topographic characteristics that increase the electrical, mechanical, optical and biological surface properties of the organic compounds. The quantities of Vanadium (V) and Aluminum (Al) were similar to that of Ti64 alloy. The metallic film obtained presents α-Ti phase structure with a (200) preferential orientation. The TiAlV film on polymeric surfaces with semi-trapezoidal topography exhibit irregularities and uncoated zones but on the glass, the metallic coating was smooth and continuous. The scratch tests were carried out using an incremental load configuration with a Tribotechnic scratch tester equipment. The metallic film decreased the viscoelastic recovering of the polymeric surface but increased the load capacity. The metallic film did not present complete delamination but fractures and small zones of coating detachment were observed on all the scratch tracks.

In diabetic patients, hyperglycemia-induced elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation severely impairs chronic wound healing by causing cellular component oxidation, inducing DNA damage, triggering cell death, exacerbating inflammatory responses, disrupting vascular endothelial function, reducing local blood supply, and inhibiting angiogenesis. This cascade results in a vicious cycle that delays the healing process. In this study, we developed a novel multifunctional composite dressing by depositing a transition-metal catalytic coating onto a superhydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane layer via magnetron sputtering. Two coatings were developed based on vanadium-ruthenium-boron (VRuB) intermetallic and VRu intermetallic compounds, which functioned as intermetallic compounds and exhibited various enzyme-like activities. The VRuB coating exhibited particularly prominent catalase-like activity (maximal reaction velocity (Vmax) of 48.53 × 10−6 M s−1; turnover number of 7.66 s−1). Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations revealed that B incorporation significantly improved catalytic performance. The artificial enzyme spray-coating process retained superhydrophobicity at the wound-contacting interface while enhancing the ROS-scavenging capabilities. Biological experiments demonstrated that the coating exhibited excellent biocompatibility and effective ROS-scavenging characteristics. These benefits were attributed to its synergistic properties, including its anti-adhesion characteristics, unidirectional drainage, moisturizing effects, and ROS elimination, which collectively promoted wound healing, especially for diabetic wound healing. The material showed promise for other applications requiring localized ROS scavenging while maintaining interfacial biomechanical properties.

The utilization of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) in commercial film capacitors has gained increasing prominence in recent years, primarily due to its advanced ultra-low dielectric loss and cost-effectiveness. In order to mitigate the degradation of the capacitive performance of BOPP films induced by the metal-electrode charge injection under extreme operational conditions, this study introduces a simple, efficient, and environmentally benign modification method for growing CoFe2O4 nanolayers onto the surface of BOPP films via magnetron sputtering. The wide bandgap CoFe2O4 nanolayers can increase the potential barrier height between the metal electrode and dielectric films of the composite dielectrics. In particular, CoFe2O4 exhibits weak magnetic properties, generating a Lorentz force within the film plane under an applied electric field, which facilitates the lateral dissipation of electrode injected charges and suppresses the localized accumulation. On this basis, an intermediate charge-blocking layer of CoFe2O4 is also incorporated into the composite structure, leveraging the synergistic effects of the 'surface' and 'bulk' to effectively prevent carrier injection and transport. Furthermore, the high dielectric constant of the CoFe2O4 nanolayers and interfacial polarization effects with the polymers result in composite films showcasing a synergistic enhancement of the dielectric properties and insulation strength. Finally, the composite film demonstrated a record max discharge energy density (Uemax) of 3.06 J cm-3 with a charge/discharge efficiency of 87.1% at 120 °C. The proposed modification method offers a promising approach with excellent compatibility for large-scale manufacturing, such as roll-to-roll processing.