Fabrication of hydrophobic surface with hierarchical structure on Mg alloy and its corrosion resistance

Mg-incorporated sorbent for efficient removal of trace CO from H2 gas

Removal of trace CO impurities is an essential step in the utilization of Hydrogen as a clean energy source. While various solutions are currently employed to address this challenge, there is an urgent need to improve their efficiency. Here, we show that a bead-structured Mg, Cu, and Ce-based sorbent, Mg13CuCeOx, demonstrates superior removal capacity of trace CO from H2 with high stability. The incorporation of Mg boosts sorption performance by enhancing the porous structure and Cu+ surface area. Remarkably, compared to existing pelletized sorbents, Mg13CuCeOx exhibits 15.5 to 50 times greater equilibrium capacity under pressures below 10 Pa CO and 31 times longer breakthrough time in removing 50 ppm CO in H2. Energy-efficient oxidative regeneration using air at 120 °C allows its stable sorption performance over 20 cycles. Through in-situ DRIFTS analysis, we elucidate the reaction mechanism that Mg augments the surface OH groups, promoting the formation of bicarbonate and formate species. This study highlights the potential of MgCuCeOx sorbents in advancing the hydrogen economy by effectively removing trace CO from H2.

AMPK/mTOR Pathway Is Involved in Autophagy Induced by Magnesium-Incorporated TiO2 Surface to Promote BMSC Osteogenic Differentiation

Magnesium has been extensively utilized to modify titanium implant surfaces based on its important function in promoting osteogenic differentiation. Autophagy has been proven to play a vital role in bone metabolism. Whether there is an association between autophagy and magnesium in promoting osteogenic differentiation remains unclear. In the present study, we focused on investigating the role of magnesium ions in early osteogenic activity and the underlying mechanism related to autophagy. Different concentrations of magnesium were embedded in micro-structured titanium surface layers using the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique. The incorporation of magnesium benefited cell adhesion, spreading, and viability; attenuated intracellular ATP concentrations and p-mTOR levels; and upregulated p-AMPK levels. This indicates the vital role of the ATP-related AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in the autophagy process associated with osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced by magnesium modification on titanium surfaces. The enhanced osteogenic differentiation and improved cellular autophagy activity of BMSCs in their extraction medium further confirmed the function of magnesium ions. The results of the present study advance our understanding of the mechanism by which magnesium regulates BMSC osteogenic differentiation through autophagy regulation. Moreover, endowing implants with the ability to activate autophagy may be a promising strategy for enhancing osseointegration in the translational medicine field in the future.

Recent Progresses of Superhydrophobic Coatings in Different Application Fields: An Overview

With the development of material engineering and coating industries, superhydrophobic coatings with exceptional water repellence have increasingly come into researchers’ horizons. The superhydrophobic coatings with corrosion resistance, self-cleaning, anti-fogging, drag-reduction, anti-icing properties, etc., meet the featured requirements from different application fields. In addition, endowing superhydrophobic coatings with essential performance conformities, such as transparency, UV resistance, anti-reflection, water-penetration resistance, thermal insulation, flame retardancy, etc. plays a remarkable role in broadening their application scope. Various superhydrophobic coatings were fabricated by diverse technologies resulting from the fundamental demands of different fields. Most past reviews, however, provided only limited information, and lacked detailed classification and presentation on the application of superhydrophobic coatings in different sectors. In the current review, we will highlight the recent progresses on superhydrophobic coatings in automobile, marine, aircraft, solar energy and architecture-buildings fields, and discuss the requirement of prominent functionalities and performance conformities in these vital fields. Poor durability of superhydrophobic coating remains a practical challenge that needs to be addressed through real-world application. This review serves as a good reference source and provides insight into the design and optimization of superhydrophobic coatings for different applications.

Co-implantation of magnesium and zinc ions into titanium regulates the behaviors of human gingival fibroblasts

Soft tissue sealing around implants acts as a barrier between the alveolar bone and oral environment, protecting implants from the invasion of bacteria or external stimuli. In this work, magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) are introduced into titanium by plasma immersed ion implantation technology, and their effects on the behaviors of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) as well as the underlying mechanisms are investigated. Surface characterization confirms Mg and Zn exist on the surface in metallic and oxidized states. Contact angle test suggests that surface wettability of titanium changes after ion implantation and thus influences protein adsorption of surfaces. In vitro studies disclose that HGFs on Mg ion-implanted samples exhibit better adhesion and migration while cells on Zn ion-implanted samples have higher proliferation rate and amounts. The results of immunofluorescence staining and real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) suggest that Mg mainly regulates the motility and adhesion of HGFs through activating the MAPK signal pathway whereas Zn influences HGFs proliferation by triggering the TGF-β signal pathway. The synergistic effect of Mg and Zn ions ensure that HGFs cultured on co-implanted samples possessed both high proliferation rate and motility, which are critical to soft tissue sealing of implants.

Rapid fabrication of anti-corrosion and self-healing superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces through environmentally friendly femtosecond laser processing

The development of superhydrophobic metals has found many applications such as self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, anti-icing, and water transportation. Recently, femtosecond laser has been used to create nano/microstructures and wetting property changes. However, for some of the most common metals, such as aluminum, a relatively long aging process is required to obtain stable hydrophobicity. In this work, we introduce a combination of femtosecond laser ablation and heat treatment post-process, without using any harsh chemicals. We turn aluminum superhydrophobic within 30 minutes of heat treatment following femtosecond laser processing, and this is significantly shorter compared to conventional aging process of laser-ablated aluminum. The superhydrophobic surfaces maintain high contact angles greater than 160° and low sliding angles smaller than 5° over two months after the heat treatment. Moreover, the samples exhibit strong superhydrophobicity for various types of liquids (milk, coffee, CuPc, R6G, HCl, NaOH and CuCl₂). The samples also show excellent self-healing and anti-corrosion properties. The mechanism for fast wettability conversion time is discussed. Our technique is a rapid process, reproducible, feasible for large-area fabrication, and environment-friendly.

Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic zinc coatings with corrosion resistance via an electrodeposition process

In this investigation, we demonstrated a controlled electrodeposition method by varying the current density to generate hierarchical structures of zinc (Zn) on a carbon steel surface, which serves as a hydrophobic and anticorrosion coating when further modified by stearic acid to form a covalently bonded layer that offers low surface energy.

Biomimetic porous Mg with tunable mechanical properties and biodegradation rates for bone regeneration

The medical applications of porous Mg scaffolds are limited owing to its rapid corrosion, which dramatically decreases the mechanical strength of the scaffold. Mimicking the bone structure and composition can improve the mechanical and biological properties of porous Mg scaffolds. The Mg structure can also be coated with HA by an aqueous precipitation coating method to enhance both the corrosion resistance and the biocompatibility. However, due to the brittleness of HA coating layer, cracks tend to form in the HA coating layer, which may influence the corrosion and biological functionality of the scaffold. Consequently, in this study, hybrid poly(ether imide) (PEI)-SiO₂ layers were applied to the HA-coated biomimetic porous Mg to impart the structure with the high corrosion resistance associated with PEI and excellent bioactivity with SiO₂. The porosity of the Mg was controlled by adjusting the concentration of the sodium chloride (NaCl) particles used in the fabrication via the space-holder method. The mechanical measurements showed that the compressive strength and stiffness of the biomimetic porous Mg increased as the portion of the dense region increased. In addition, following results show that HA/(PEI-SiO₂) hybrid-coated biomimetic Mg is a promising biodegradable scaffold for orthopedic applications. In-vitro testing revealed that the proposed hybrid coating reduced the degradation rate and facilitated osteoblast spreading compared to HA- and HA/PEI-coating scaffolds. Moreover, in-vivo testing with a rabbit femoropatellar groove model showed improved tissue formation, reduced corrosion and degradation, and improved bone formation on the scaffold. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Porous Mg is a promising biodegradable scaffold for orthopedic applications. However, there are limitations in applying porous Mg for an orthopedic biomaterial due to its poor mechanical properties and susceptibility to rapid corrosion. Here, we strategically designed the structure and coating layer of porous Mg to overcome these limitations. First, porous Mg was fabricated by mimicking the bone structure which has a combined structure of dense and porous regions, thus resulting in an enhancement of mechanical properties. Furthermore, the biomimetic porous Mg was coated with HA/(PEI-SiO₂) hybrid layer to improve both corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. As the final outcome, with tunable mechanical and biodegradable properties, HA/(PEI-SiO₂)-coated biomimetic porous Mg could be a promising candidate material for load-bearing orthopedic applications.

Chelating agent-assisted in situ LDH growth on the surface of magnesium alloy

In situ formation of layered double hydroxides (LDH) on metallic surfaces has recently been considered a promising approach for protective conversion surface treatments for Al and Mg alloys. In the case of Mg-based substrates, the formation of LDH on the metal surface is normally performed in autoclave at high temperature (between 130 and 170 °C) and elevated pressure conditions. This hampers the industrial application of MgAl LDH to magnesium substrates. In this paper, the growth of MgAl LDH conversion coating directly on magnesium alloy AZ91 at ambient conditions (25 °C) or elevated temperatures is reported in carbonate free electrolyte for the first time. The direct LDH synthesis on Mg alloys is enabled by the presence of organic chelating agents (NTA and EDTA), which control the amount of free and/or hydroxyl bound Mg2+ and Al3+ in the solution. The application of the chelating agents help overcoming the typical technological limitations of direct LDH synthesis on Mg alloys. The selection of chelators and the optimization of the LDH treatment process are supported by the analysis of the thermodynamic chemical equilibria.

Hydrothermal treatment and butylphosphonic acid derived self-assembled monolayers for improving the surface chemistry and corrosion resistance of AZ61 magnesium alloy

The hydrothermal treatment followed by a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 1-butylphosphonic acid through the tethering by aggregation and growth (T-BAG) method was employed to produce protective surface coatings on the Mg-6Al-1Zn alloy (AZ61) for reducing the degradation rate in physiological environments. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements revealed that the organic self-assembled monolayer and Mg(OH)₂ coating can further enhance the surface chemical stability and corrosion resistance of Mg alloys. SAM-treated Mg(OH)₂ coatings can be served as a more passive surface layer as a result of their much higher charge transfer resistance and the presence of Warburg impedance in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement.

A study of degradation resistance and cytocompatibility of super-hydrophobic coating on magnesium

Calcium stearate based super-hydrophobic coating was deposited on plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) pre-treated magnesium substrate. The pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating covered sample were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electrochemical corrosion measurements. The cytocompatibility and degradation resistance of magnesium, pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating were analysed in terms of cell adhesion and osteoblast differentiation. The results indicate that the calcium stearate top coating shows super-hydrophobicity and that the surface is composed of micro/nanostructure. The super-hydrophobic coating covered sample shows higher barrier properties compared with the PEO pre-treated magnesium and bare magnesium. Human osteoblast proliferation, but not differentiation is enhanced by the PEO coating. Contrary, the super-hydrophobic coating reduces proliferation, but enhances differentiation of osteoblast, observable by the formation of hydroxyapatite. The combination of corrosion protection and cell reaction indicates that this system could be interesting for biomedical applications.

One-step electrodeposition process to fabricate corrosion-resistant superhydrophobic surface on magnesium alloy

A simple, one-step method has been developed to construct a superhydrophobic surface by electrodepositing Mg-Mn-Ce magnesium plate in an ethanol solution containing cerium nitrate hexahydrate and myristic acid. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to characterize the surfaces. The shortest electrodeposition time to obtain a superhydrophobic surface was about 1 min, and the as-prepared superhydrophobic surfaces had a maximum contact angle of 159.8° and a sliding angle of less than 2°. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements demonstrated that the superhydrophobic surface greatly improved the corrosion properties of magnesium alloy in 3.5 wt % aqueous solutions of NaCl, Na2SO4, NaClO3, and NaNO3. Besides, the chemical stability and mechanical durability of the as-prepared superhydrophobic surface were also examined. The presented method is rapid, low-cost, and environmentally friendly and thus should be of significant value for the industrial fabrication of anticorrosive superhydrophobic surfaces and should have a promising future in expanding the applications of magnesium alloys.

Fabrication of Au–AlAu4–Al2O3 superhydrophobic surface and its corrosion resistance

A stable superhydrophobic surface with excellent corrosion resistance has been fabricated via immersion and annealing without organic modification.

Rapid fabrication of large-area, corrosion-resistant superhydrophobic Mg alloy surfaces

A superhydrophobic magnesium (Mg) alloy surface was successfully fabricated via a facile electrochemical machining process, and subsequently covered with a fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) film. The surface morphologies and chemical compositions were investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). The results show hierarchal rough structures and an FAS film with a low surface energy on the Mg alloy surfaces, which confers good superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 165.2° and a water tilting angle of approximately 2°. The processing conditions, such as the processing time and removal rate per unit area at a constant removal mass per unit area, were investigated to determine their effects on the superhydrophobicity. Interestingly, when the removal mass per unit area is constant at approximately 11.10 mg/cm(2), the superhydrophobicity does not change with the removal rate per unit area. Therefore, a superhydrophobic Mg alloy surface can be rapidly fabricated based on this property. A large-area superhydrophobic Mg alloy surface was also fabricated for the first time using a small-area moving cathode. The corrosion resistance and durability of the superhydrophobic surfaces were also examined.

Ceramic coatings of LA141 alloy formed by plasma electrolytic oxidation for corrosion protection

Superlight Mg-Li alloy is a promising structural materials in aerospace, automobile, and electronics because of its excellent properties such as low density, high ductility, superior strength-to-weight ratio, and good damping ability. The fabrication of compact plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings with excellent corrosion resistance is valuable for the widespread application of Mg-Li alloy. Here we present a ceramic coating on the surface of Mg-14Li-1Al (LA141) alloy for corrosion protection via plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in an alkaline silicate electrolyte with tungstate as an additive. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thin film-X-ray diffraction analysis of coatings show that the surface coating is mainly comprised of Mg(2)SiO(4), MgO and WO(3). Scanning electron microscopy observations have revealed that the dense and compact coating formed in the presence of tungstate has less structural imperfections in comparison to the control one fabricated without use of tungstate. The effect of oxidation time on the morphology and phase composition of coatings is also examined in detail.