The aim of this work is to study the hardness of the ferrite, austenite and sigma phases of a UNS S32760 superduplex stainless steel submitted to different thermal treatments, thus leading to different percentages of the mentioned phases. A comparative study has been performed in order to evaluate the resulting mechanical properties of these phases by using hardness, microhardness and nanoindentation techniques. In addition, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been also used to identify their presence and distribution. Finally, the experimental results have shown that the resulting hardness values were increased as a function of a longer heat treatment duration which it is associated to the formation of a higher percentage of the sigma phase. However, nanoindentation hardness measurements of this sigma phase showed lower values than expected, being a combination of two main factors, namely the complexity of the sigma phase structure as well as the surface finish (roughness).

The application of surface treatments that incorporate silver or copper as antibacterial elements has become a common practice for a wide variety of medical devices and materials because of their effective activity against nosocomial infections. Ceramic tiles are choice materials for cladding the floors and walls of operation rooms and other hospital spaces. This study is focused on the deposition of biocide physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings on glazed ceramic tiles. The objective was to provide antibacterial activity to the surfaces without worsening their mechanical properties. Silver and copper-doped chromium nitride (CrN) and titanium nitride (TiN) coatings were deposited on samples of tiles. A complete characterization was carried out in order to determine the composition and structure of the coatings, as well as their topographical and mechanical properties. The distribution of Ag and Cu within the coating was analyzed using glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Roughness, microhardness, and scratch resistance were measured for all of the combinations of coatings and dopants, as well as their wettability. Finally, tests of antibacterial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were carried out, showing that all of the doped coatings had pronounced biocide activity.

This paper reports the use of the electrospinning technique for the synthesis of nanocomposite micro/nanofibers by combining a polymeric precursor with hydrophobic behavior like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with nanoparticles of a corrosion inhibitor like ZnO. These electrospun fibers were deposited on substrates of the aluminum alloy 6061T6 until forming a coating around 100 μm. The effect of varying the different electrospinning deposition parameters (mostly applied voltage and flow-rate) was exhaustively analyzed in order to optimize the coating properties. Several microscopy and analysis techniques have been employed, including optical microscopy (OM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Water contact angle (WCA) measurements have been carried out in order to corroborate the coating hydrophobicity. Finally, their corrosion behavior has been evaluated by electrochemical tests (Tafel curves and pitting potential measurements), showing a relevant improvement in the resultant corrosion resistance of the coated aluminum alloys.

Anti-icing or passive strategies have undergone a remarkable growth in importance as a complement for the de-icing approaches or active methods. As a result, many efforts for developing icephobic surfaces have been mostly dedicated to apply superhydrophobic coatings. Recently, a different type of ice-repellent structure based on slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) has attracted increasing attention for being a simple and effective passive ice protection in a wide range of application areas, especially for the prevention of ice formation on aircrafts. In this work, the electrospinning technique has been used for the deposition of PVDF-HFP coatings on samples of the aeronautical alloy AA7075 by using a thickness control system based on the identification of the proper combination of process parameters such as the flow rate and applied voltage. In addition, the influence of the experimental conditions on the nanofiber properties is evaluated in terms of surface morphology, wettability, corrosion resistance, and optical transmittance. The experimental results showed an improvement in the micro/nanoscale structure, which optimizes the superhydrophobic and anticorrosive behavior due to the air trapped inside the nanotextured surface. In addition, once the best coating was selected, centrifugal ice adhesion tests (CAT) were carried out for two types of icing conditions (glaze and rime) simulated in an ice wind tunnel (IWT) on both as-deposited and liquid-infused coatings (SLIPs). The liquid-infused coatings showed a low water adhesion (low contact angle hysteresis) and low ice adhesion strength, reducing the ice adhesion four times with respect to PTFE (a well-known low-ice-adhesion material used as a reference).