Effect of TiO2 Concentration on Microstructure and Properties of Composite Cu-Sn-TiO2 Coatings Obtained by Electrodeposition

Special Issue "Corrosion Resistance of Alloy and Coating Materials"

This Special Issue aims to include the latest research findings on the corrosion phenomena that occur in various materials, both solid and coating materials [...].

Influence of CeO2 and TiO2 Particles on Physicochemical Properties of Composite Nickel Coatings Electrodeposited at Ambient Temperature

The Ni-TiO₂ and Ni-CeO₂ composite coatings with varying hydrophilic/hydrophobic characteristics were fabricated by the electrodeposition method from a tartrate electrolyte at ambient temperature. To meet the requirements of tight regulation by the European Chemicals Agency classifying H₃BO₃ as a substance of very high concern, Rochelle salt was utilized as a buffer solution instead. The novelty of this study was to implement a simple one-step galvanostatic electrodeposition from the low-temperature electrolyte based on a greener buffer compared to traditionally used, aiming to obtain new types of soft-matrix Ni, Ni-CeO₂, and Ni-TiO₂ coatings onto steel or copper substrates. The surface characteristics of electrodeposited nickel composites were evaluated by SEM, EDS, surface contact angle measurements, and XPS. Physiochemical properties of pure Ni, Ni-CeO_2, and Ni-TiO₂ composites, namely, wear resistance, microhardness, microroughness, and photocatalytic activity, were studied. Potentiodynamic polarization, EIS, and ICP-MS analyses were employed to study the long-term corrosion behavior of coatings in a 0.5 M NaCl solution. Superior photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, 96.2% after 6 h of illumination, was achieved in the case of Ni-TiO₂ composite, while no substantial change in the photocatalytic behavior of the Ni-CeO₂ compared to pure Ni was observed. Both composites demonstrated higher hardness and wear resistance than pure Ni. This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing TiO₂ as a photocatalytic hydrophilicity promoter in the fabrication of composite coatings for various applications.

A High-Performing Nanostructured Ir Doped-TiO2 for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Gaseous Toluene

TiO2-based photocatalysts still have some limitations such as large bandgap and low surface area, leading to low efficiency in the photocatalytic degradation of VOCs and limiting it to use in sunlight. Here we report that the nanostructured Ir-doped TiO2 as an efficient photocatalyst generates an excellent risk-reduction material of gaseous toluene. We have succeeded in developing a nanostructured Ir-doped TiO2 and initially found that excellent efficient photocatalytic VOC decomposition can be achieved in our materials The nanostructured Ir-doped TiO2 was synthesized by a one pot, low temperature hydrothermal process with different ratios of Ir doped into the TiO2. It exhibited a high surface area, uniformly spherical morphology of 10–15 nm. Its activity for the photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene exhibited up to 97.5% under UV light. This enhancement could be explained by iridium doping which created a high concentration oxygen vacancy and changed the recombination rate of the photogenerated charge carriers. More generally, our study indicates a strategic way to develop the novel nanostructured material for numerous applications.