Fig. 1 Schematic images of sculptured metal surfaces.
Surface properties are critically important for metal applications, especially when using alloys or composite. A key factor in these properties is the layers of metal oxide that develop on metal surfaces – how these layers form and dissolve has a huge impact on the surface stability. Conventional methods for creating metal surfaces often result in uneven oxide layers, weakening the properties.
Nanosculpturing, on the other hand, allows oxide deposition and dissolution to be controlled so that they can be evenly spread. This gives the surfaces the same properties across their whole area, making them very stable. Adelung’s group used a careful balancing act between direct and indirect dissolution, which gave them the benefits of both.
The nanoscale sculptured surfaces were also remarkably corrosion-resistant, and could be made hydrophobic or hydrophilic by alternately dehydrating or hydrating the oxide layer. With its property-boosting effects and wide scope, nanoscale sculpturing could soon be used for an array of metal applications.
Read the full article here:
Making metal surfaces strong, resistant, and multifunctional by nanoscale-sculpturing
M. Baytekin-Gerngross, M. D. Gerngross, J. Carstensen and R. Adelung
Nanoscale Horiz., 2016, Advance Article
Susannah May is a guest web writer for the RSC Journal blogs. She currently works in the Publishing Department of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has a keen interest in biology and biomedicine, and the frontiers of their intersection with chemistry. She can be found on Twitter using @SusannahCIMay.
