The corrosion behavior of the corrosion-resistant alloy Hastelloy G-35 (manufactured by Haynes International, Inc.), corrosion and heat resistant alloy VDM Alloy 600 or Nicrofer 7216 and corrosion-resistant alloys VDM Alloy C-4 or Nicrofer 6616 and VDM Alloy 625 or Nicrofer 6020 (all produced by VDM Metals) was studied at 450–650 °C in fused KCl–AlCl₃ mixture with the initial AlCl₃-to-KCl ratio of 1.1. Time of exposure varied from 6 to over 1000 h. The corrosion rates of all the nickel-based alloys studied were determined by the red-ox processes resulting in dissolving the most electronegative alloy components (Cr, Fe and Mn) indicating that the processes taking place had electrochemical nature. Increasing temperature led to a noticeable increase of corrosion rates and a change of the corrosion process nature. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that intermetallic phases (such as sigma-phase in case of Hastelloy G-35 and Alloy 625 or Ni₂(Cr,Mo) secondary phase in VDM Alloy C-4) can be formed during prolonged high-temperature exposure. These phenomena can accelerate the processes of intergranular corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of studied materials in industrial conditions. The results obtained agreed well with thermodynamic analysis, mechanical and thermophysical properties of the alloys and constructed "time-temperature-precipitation" diagrams.

Green technologies are actively being used to produce nanosized zinc oxide, which is in demand for water purification processes to remove pollutants. Despite the success of the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles, no scientific approach exists for selecting plant extracts to produce nanoparticles with the desired properties. This study shows that the antioxidant activity of the plant extracts used is a key parameter influencing the properties of the resulting ZnO nanoparticles. This conclusion is based on the results of nanoparticle synthesis with the use of various plant extracts. The antioxidant activity of the extracts increases in the following order: plum–gooseberry–black currant–strawberry–sea buckthorn. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The catalytic properties of ZnO nanoparticles were tested under the degradation of a synthetic methylene blue dye after exposure to UV light. We found that with an increase in the AOA of plant extracts, the size of the nanoparticles decreases, while their photocatalytic activity increases. The smallest (d = 13 nm), most uniform in size (polydispersity index 0.1), and most catalytically active ZnO nanoparticles with a small band gap (2.85 eV) were obtained using the sea buckthorn extract with the highest AOA, pH 10 of the reaction mixture and 0.1 M Zn(CH₃COO)₂∙2H₂O as a precursor salt. ZnO nanoparticles synthesized in the sea buckthorn extract demonstrated the highest dye photodegradation efficiency (96.4%) compared with other nanoparticles. The established patterns demonstrate the “antioxidant activity–size–catalytic activity” triad can be considered as a practical guide for obtaining ZnO nanoparticles of a given size and with given properties for environmental remediation applications.

The corrosion resistance of Haynes 230, Hastelloy S and X high-temperature alloys and Hastelloy N, B-3, G-35, C-2000 corrosion-resistant alloys was investigated in a wide temperature range (450–650 °C) in fused KCl-AlCl₃ mixtures. It was found that the mechanisms of corrosion of high-temperature alloys and corrosion-resistant alloys in KCl-AlCl₃ based melts are different. At a critical temperature phase structure of the high-temperature alloys changes after contact with chloroaluminate melts resulting in formation of intermetallic or carbon-containing phases along the grain boundaries that result in increasing strength of the alloys but initiate intense intergranular corrosion. The structural changes in most of the corrosion-resistant alloys take place at higher temperatures but they also can cause structural changes in the materials. It was shown that both types of alloys undergo intergranular corrosion up to the critical conditions. Formation of different secondary phases was detected and their influence on the corrosion processes mechanism is analyzed.

The corrosion resistance of AISI 316L, 12Kh18N10T (analogue of AISI 321) austenitic stainless steels and their basic components (metallic iron, nickel, chromium, molybdenum) was investigated in the melts based on the NaCl–KCl equimolar mixture at 750 ºC. Austenitic stainless steels underwent high temperature sensitization, and it was shown that this phenomenon determined the intergranular type of the steel corrosion. It was demonstrated that the presence of uranium ions in the electrolyte intensified corrosion processes. Metallic molybdenum demonstrated the highest corrosion resistance among the construction materials studied.