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In this study, the performance and durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) were improved using a Pt-Pr[sub.6] O[sub.11] composite electrode fabricated through a co-sputtering technique. Platinum (Pt), widely used as the catalyst material in PEMFCs, often faces stability issues under various electrical load conditions. These issues require greater efforts to enhance PEMFC durability. Various approaches, including replacement of catalyst supports with electrically stable materials (such as metal oxides) or adoption of core-shell and alloy structures to stabilize Pt, have been attempted. In this research, a thin film electrode combining Pr[sub.6] O[sub.11] and Pt was fabricated. Pr[sub.6] O[sub.11] , a lanthanide oxide, enhances the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through strong interactions with Pt, and its multi-valence state contributes to improved durability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to analyze the composition, morphology, and chemical characteristics of the electrodes. I-V curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies (EIS) were measured to evaluate electrochemical properties of fuel cells. A cyclic voltammetry (CV) test was conducted to calculate the electrochemical surface area of the cell. As a result, the incorporation of Pr[sub.6] O[sub.11] improved the pristine cell performance by 7.6% and increased performance after degradation testing by 121% compared to Pt-only cases. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the Pt-Pr[sub.6] O[sub.11] composite in enhancing both the initial performance and the durability of PEMFCs.

This paper reports a MEMS-based co-oscillating electrochemical vector hydrophone based on two microelectrode chips with deep micro-channels. Micro-channels and flow holes are obtained simultaneously by one step of deep reactive ion etching. By skillfully taking advantage of the Aspect Ratio Dependent Etching(ARDE), flow holes penetrating the silicon wafer and the micro-channels surrounding the flow holes will be obtained. When sputtering the metal micro-electrode, due to the micro-channels’ depth and taking advantage of the limitation of the angle of incidence of sputtering, the cathode on the surface and the anode on the side wall of the flow holes are insulated on both sides of the micro-channels. Compared with the previous process, not only does a smaller and controllable distance between anode and cathode is realized, that is the width of the micro-channels, but also the process flow in this study is greatly simplified, where only one lithography is required to be completed. The co-oscillating electrochemical vector hydrophone using this microelectrode chip has high sensitivity of −178.85dB ref.1V/μPa(1711V/(m/s)) @ 30Hz, far greater than similar and other types of vector hydrophones, and great linearity. Its excellent performance shows its potential application in underwater acoustic field.

This review article presents the literature survey on radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtered LiCoO2 thin films used as cathode materials in all-solid-state rechargeable lithium microbatteries. As the process parameters lead to a variety of texture and preferential orientation, the influence of the sputtering conditions on the deposition of LiCoO2 thin films are considered. The electrochemical performance is examined as a function of composition of the sputter Ar/O2 gas mixture, gas flow rate, pressure, nature of substrate, substrate temperature, deposition rate, and annealing temperature. The state-of-the-art of lithium microbatteries fabricated by the rf-sputtering method is also reported.

In this paper, the failure behavior of the glow discharge cathode of the ArF excimer laser was investigated. The morphology and composition of the cathode were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy spectrometer and high resolution laser confocal microscope. The results show that Ar ions sputtering occurs in the cathode discharge area, resulting in sputtering pit, molten morphology and resolidified particles. Due to the thermal effect induced by sputtering, Zn element evaporates violently, which intensifies the cathode erosion. Argon ion sputtering experiments proved the influence of random sputtering on the generation of sputtering pits. The main failure form of the non-discharge region is the corrosion of F 2 molecule, which is dominated by Cu and Zn fluoride, and the fluorination layer is not dense.

The increasing need for advanced orthopaedic implants necessitates improved materials that offer better biocompatibility and mechanical properties, addressing issues such as implant failure due to poor integration and corrosion. A 3″ diameter, 5-mm-thick pellet of hydroxyapatite (HAP) was prepared and was used as the cathode for the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system. One hundred nm nanocoating on alumina substrates (HAP/Al 2 O 3 ) was done using RF magnetron sputtering. The hexagonal (HCP) HAP structure was chosen to deposit on hexagonal α-alumina for better growth and adhesion of the HAP film. The microstructure was analysed using field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and glancing angle X-ray diffraction. Elemental analysis was carried out using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Mechanical and film adhesion properties were studied using Vicker’s hardness and scratch test, respectively. The hardness of the coated sample increases 2.5 times. The optical contact angle increased from 82.88° for pure alumina to 113.53° for HAP/Al 2 O 3 due to the decreased roughness, indicating enhanced hydrophobicity. Pore size, area, and volume were studied using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller technique. Corrosion resistance in Ringer’s solution and dielectric properties were investigated. The antimicrobial investigation was carried out against two different bacteria, namely gram-negative Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ). Improved adhesion, hardness, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility properties are correlated with the surface and structural properties. Graphical abstract

There are many plasma methods for the synthesis of nanostructures, for example, the plasma-chemical vapor deposition method, the cathode-arc deposition method, the plasma jet method, the ion sputtering method, etc. Each of the listed methods can be organized in various ways, and each method is suitable for creating certain nanostructure.

TiN nano-layered thin films were synthesized using an indigenously built cylindrical magnetron sputtering (CMS) apparatus at varying nitrogen flow rates ranging between 5 and 45 sccm at a constant deposition pressure of 9.5 × 10 −2  mbar. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), and nano-indentation studies were performed to characterize these as-deposited films. Unlike conventional sputtering, CMS grown films exhibited Stranski–Krastanov (SK) growth with self-assembled nano-hill architecture. The growth of nano-hills is attributed to the shadowing effect of oblique incident flux arising from cylindrical shaped cathode. Additional relaxation based on inverse Hall–Petch formalism brings about indentation induced buckling of nano-hills leading to softening of the TiN films. Higher hill heights at lower nitrogen flow led to increased friction and wear as they are crushed under the applied load generating debris. In contrast, the shorter nano-hills at high nitrogen flow tend to buckle rather than collapse under indenter load resulting in reduced friction. Coefficient of friction value is further influenced by the angle between nano-hill arrays, growth orientation, and indenter sliding directions. Raman spectroscopy data shows the appearance of high wave number anti-symmetric A + O mode for films synthesized at higher argon or nitrogen concentrations.

Co-electrolysis of waste plastics and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into value-added chemicals or fuels is a promising pathway for a sustainable society, but efficient and selective conversion remains a challenge. Herein, a gold-mediated nickel hydroxide (Au/Ni(OH) 2 ) is developed to oxidize waste plastic-derived ethylene glycol (EG) into formate. In-situ electrochemical experiments and theoretical results reveal that the introduction of Au favors the redox properties and EG adsorption behavior of Ni(OH) 2 . The Au/Ni(OH) 2 catalyst shows an excellent formate selectivity of >90% at high current densities of above 100 mA cm −2 . When coupled with sputtered bismuth (Bi) cathode for CO 2 reduction, a high formate Faradic efficiency (FE) of 188.2% at 200 mA cm −2 and a good formate productivity of 7.33 mmol m −2 s −1 at 10 A are obtained in a flow cell and a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly (MEA) cell, respectively. This work demonstrates a promising strategy to convert waste plastics and CO 2 into valuable products.

GaSb-based thin films are expected to be applicable to biomedical and environmental devices requiring efficient operation in the near-infrared region. In this study, the effects of dilute Bi doping on the structural properties and chemical stability of GaSb thin films were examined. GaSb and GaSb 1− x Bi x ( x  = 0.011, 0.013, or 0.032) thin films were grown at 320 °C on quartz substrates and PI films by multi-cathode RF magnetron sputtering. The crystallinity of the GaSb/quartz was superior to that of the GaSb/PI. Bi doping improved the crystallinity of the GaSb thin films with the exception of GaSb 0.968 Bi 0.032 /quartz, for which the crystallinity deteriorated owing to abnormal growth due to Bi cluster formation. In addition, the crystallinity of GaSb 1− x Bi x /PI was drastically improved at x  = 0.032. The increases in grain size and hole concentration caused by Bi doping indicate that Bi assists the growth of GaSb thin films. Furthermore, elution tests revealed that Bi doping suppresses the elution of highly toxic Sb under simulated physiological conditions. These findings have the possibility to hasten the development of flexible GaSb-based biomedical and environmental devices with improved safety and lower environmental burden.

TiO 2 nanofibers (NFs), grown on Ti sheets by hydrothermal treatment, were coated with Cu 2 O nanoparticles (NPs) using sputtering or chemical bath deposition (CBD) in order to improve their photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting capabilities as photoanodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy confirmed the production of the desired Cu 2 O-TiO 2 /Ti hetero-nanostructures, while PEC measurements evidenced a net improvement of the produced photocurrent under standard xenon lamp illumination, compared to the pristine TiO 2 /Ti structure. Moreover, it appears that the sputtered composite photoanodes provide a higher photocurrent compared to the CBD made ones, meaning that their oxide/oxide interfaces are of better crystalline quality, supplying a larger number of electrons to the Pt cell cathode for H + reduction to H 2 , through the external PEC cell circuit.