Modification of polydimethylsoloxane/water interaction, to promote a spontaneous water flux through the microchannels, is a crucial task in microfluidic applications. For that reason, in this research, the authors study the hydrophilicity improvement induced by low‐power oxygen plasma treatments (15 W) on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel. The effects of the oxygen plasma treatments on wettability and water‐work of adhesion on PDMS surfaces have been studied by sessile contact angle. The chemical composition of the plasma has been investigated by means of optical emission spectroscopy. The results indicate that the improvement of wettability on treated PDMS is led by the percentage of atomic oxygen in the plasma discharge. Super‐hydrophilic surfaces (contact angle < 5°) have been obtained optimising the atomic oxygen percentage in the plasma discharge varying only the plasma working pressure. Super‐hydrophilic PDMS microchannels show the highest spontaneous capillary flow in the channels while the hydrophilic microchannel shows only a small capillary flow.

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄ or LFP) is a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but side reactions between the electrolyte and the LFP electrode can degrade battery performance. This study introduces an innovative coating strategy, using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to apply a thin (5 nm and 10 nm) Al₂O₃ layer onto high-mass loading LFP electrodes. Galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to assess the electrochemical performance of coated and uncoated LFP electrodes. The results show that Al₂O₃ coatings enhance the cycling performance at room temperature (RT) and 40 °C by suppressing side reactions and stabilizing the cathode–electrolyte interface (CEI). The coated LFP retained 67% of its capacity after 100 cycles at 1C and RT, compared to 57% for the uncoated sample. Post-mortem analyses, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were conducted to investigate the mechanisms behind the improved performance. These analyses reveal that Al₂O₃ coatings are highly effective in reducing LFP electrode degradation during cycling, demonstrating the potential of ALD Al₂O₃ coatings to enhance the durability and performance of LFP electrodes in LIBs.

Graphene-based materials have demonstrated chemical stability and are very promising for protection against the corrosion induced by water on lead surfaces.

Water, through a metal–water reaction, is an appealing candidate to store and release hydrogen (H₂), in particular as a portable, easy to use energy storage source.