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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface properties of modern materials are usually inadequate so they should be modified prior to application or further processing such as coating with functional materials. Both morphological properties and chemical structure/composition should be modified in order to obtain a desired surface finish. Various treatment procedures have been employed, and many are based on the application of non-equilibrium gaseous media, especially gaseous plasma. Although such treatments have been studied extensively in recent decades, and even commercialized, the exact mechanism of interaction between reactive gaseous species and solid materials is still poorly understood. This Special Issue will provide recent trends in the nanostructuring and functionalization of solid materials with the goal of improving their functional properties such as biocompatibility.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome. Critical reviews in specific modern topics such as biocompatibility of advanced polymers and polymer composites are particularly welcome. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts reporting unexpected results provided they can present scientifically spotless explanations.

Prof. Dr. Mozetic Miran
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

surface properties
nanostructuring
functionalization
grafting

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6039 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of α-Al₂O₃/Ba-β-Al₂O₃ Spheres for Cadmium Ions Removal from Aqueous Solutions

by Pamela Nair Silva-Holguín, Álvaro de Jesús Ruíz-Baltazar, Nahum Andrés Medellín-Castillo, Gladis Judith Labrada-Delgado and Simón Yobanny Reyes-López

Materials 2022, 15(19), 6809; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15196809 - 30 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1609

Abstract

The search for adsorbent materials with a certain chemical inertness, mechanical resistance, and high adsorption capacity, as is the case with alumina, is carried out with structural or surface modifications with the addition of additives or metallic salts. This research shows the synthesis, characterization, phase evolution and Cd(II) adsorbent capacity of α-Al₂O₃/Ba-β-Al₂O₃ spheres obtained from α-Al₂O₃ nanopowders by the ion encapsulation method. The formation of the Ba-β-Al₂O₃ phase is manifested at 1500 °C according to the infrared spectrum by the appearance of bands corresponding to AlO₄ bonds and the appearance of peaks corresponding to Ba-O bonds in Raman spectroscopy. XRD determined the presence of BaO·Al₂O₃ at 1000 °C and the formation of Ba-β-Al₂O₃ at 1600 °C. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of spherical grains corresponding to α-Al₂O₃ and hexagonal plates corresponding to β-Al₂O₃ in the spheres treated at 1600 °C. The spheres obtained have dimensions of 4.65 ± 0.30 mm in diameter, weight of 43 ± 2 mg and a surface area of 0.66 m²/g. According to the curve of pH vs. zeta potential, the spheres have an acid character and a negative surface charge of −30 mV at pH 5. Through adsorption studies, an adsorbent capacity of Cd(II) of 59.97 mg/g (87 ppm Cd(II)) was determined at pH 5, and the data were fitted to the pseudo first order, pseudo second order and Freundlich models, with correlation factors of 0.993, 0.987 and 0.998, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification to Improve Properties of Material)

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11 pages, 2415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Various Surface Treatments on Wettability and Morphological Properties of Titanium Oxide Thin Films

by Ewelina Kuźmicz-Mirosław, Marcin Kuśmierz, Konrad Terpiłowski, Mateusz Śmietana, Mariusz Barczak and Magdalena Staniszewska

Materials 2022, 15(12), 4113; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15124113 - 09 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1459

Abstract

The effect of three popular surface activation methods for a titanium oxide (titania) surface was thoroughly investigated to identify the most effective protocol for the enhancement of hydrophilicity. All the methods, namely H₂O₂ activation, UV irradiation and oxygen plasma treatment resulted in an enhanced hydrophilic titania surface, which was evidenced by the reduced contact angle values. To study in detail the chemical and morphological features responsible for the increased hydrophilicity, the treated surfaces were submitted to inspection with atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The correlation between the treatment and titania surface hydroxylation as well as hydrophilic behavior have been discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification to Improve Properties of Material)

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15 pages, 6446 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wettability and Adhesion of Polyethylene Powder Treated with Non-Equilibrium Various Gaseous Plasma in Semi-Industrial Equipment

by Hana Jelínek Šourková, Zuzana Weberová, Jakub Antoň and Petr Špatenka

Materials 2022, 15(2), 686; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15020686 - 17 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1735

Abstract

Plasma treatment of polyethylene powder was carried out in low-pressure gaseous plasma sustained in a semi-industrial reactor powered with a microwave source, in which it was specifically worked with the residual atmosphere. Timed applications of plasma-treated powder in air atmosphere were carried out to study their influence on the adhesion. Based on wettability and adhesion, a treatment time of 5 min was selected for the study of other working gases (nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, argon and a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen). The measurements of wettability showed the highest adhesion increase for nitrogen. The highest increase of adhesion and of surface oxygen contain shown by oxygen treatment. By contrast, treatment with hydrogen resulted in increased roughness of the sintered surface of the powder. The selection of appropriate working gases which are not standard in industrial processes enables one to atypically regulate the adhesion or wettability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Modification to Improve Properties of Material)

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