RuO2/carbon composites have attracted a lot of attention for use as supercapacitor electrodes due to their high power and energy capabilities. Methods for loading the RuO2 into the carbon include impregnation and electrochemical deposition. The first project involves impregnation of RuO2 nanoparticles into a mesoporous carbon powder. Structural changes of the RuO2 nanoparticles in the composite were induced by annealing at high temperatures, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption (XAS) were used to study the changes. In situ electrochemical-XAS experiments were also developed and performed to study the structural stability of the RuO2 nanoparticles in the composite as well as bulk RuO2•xH2O, with respect to changing potential. Preliminary work on the electrodeposition of RuO2•xH2O onto Au foil and carbon cloth was performed. An electrode with a high specific capacitance of the RuO2•xH2O component was achieved. However, further studies need to be performed to optimize the deposition solution.

Zinc and its alloys are among the most widely utilised metallic coatings for the sacrificial protection of steel. Although excellent in this mode of protection, these coatings are often less durable when subjected to environments of combined wear and corrosion due to their intrinsic relative softness and ductility. A possible and fast growing way of improving the durability of these coating is by the codeposition of inert particles into the zinc and zinc-alloy matrix. The main aim of this research was therefore to improve the durability of zinc and zinc-nickel coatings by the incorporation of inert particles via electrolytic codeposition methods. The first five chapters of this thesis comprise literature review on the electrodeposition of zinc, its alloys and composite electrodeposition in general. A major part of which was dedicated to the review of various conventional methods and parameters such as current density, agitation, temperature, solution composition, bath additives and pH usually investigated in electrodeposition. The experimental work was principally based on DC electrodeposition and was aimed at understanding the deposition behaviour of zinc and zinc-nickel electrodeposition baths, conditions which influence them and solution compatibility to the introduction of silica particles. A systematic study on the deposition behaviour of both zinc/silica and zinc-nickel/silica composite baths was carried out with particular interest on the rate of particle incorporation and the influence of particles on zinc-nickel alloy deposition. The complimentary codeposition behaviour of the nickel and silica particles was observed. The influence of bath additives such as N,N Dimethyldodecylamine (NND) and sodium nitrate on the rate of silica incorporation was also studied. Both additives were found to improve the rate of particle incorporation for the zinc/silica. The morphologies and compositions of the coatings were analysed with the use of SEM and FEGSEM. Corrosion performance studies were carried out in a neutral salt spray chamber and linear polarisation resistance methods used to determine barrier corrosion properties of the coatings. Anodic polarisation studies were also carried out. The results show an improvement in the corrosion performance of these coatings with the addition of silica particles Reciprocating wear tests were used to determine the wear behaviour of the coatings in terms of weight loss. Improvement in wear resistance was not observed in the zinc/silica coatings probably due to the high content of silica in the coatings. Lower silica contents may be required for the desired improvements. However, there were obvious improvements in the wear behaviour of the zinc-nickel/silica coatings due to the presence of the silica particles.

No description available.

Ferritic stainless steels are the most commonly used materials for solid oxide fuel cell interconnect application. Although these alloys may meet the criteria for interconnect application for short periods of service, their application is limited for long-term use (i.e., 40,000 h) due to poor oxidation behaviour that results in a rapid increase in contact resistance. In addition, volatile Cr species migrating from the chromia scale can poison the cathode resulting in a considerable drop in performance of the cell. Coatings and surface modifications have been developed in order to mitigate the abovementioned problems. In this study, composite electrodeposition of reactive element containing particles in a metal matrix was considered as a solution to the interconnect problems. Nickel and Co were used as the metal matrix and LaCrO3 particles as the reactive element containing particles. The role of the particles was to improve the oxidation resistance and oxide scale adhesion, while the role of Ni or Co was to provide a matrix for embedding of the particles. Also, oxidation of the Ni or Co matrix led to the formation of conductive oxides. Moreover, as another part of this study, the effect of substrate composition on performance of steel interconnects was investigated. Numerous experimental techniques were used to study and characterise the oxidation behaviour of the composite coatings, as well as the metal-oxide scale interface properties. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), as well as surface analysis techniques including Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), were used for the purpose of characterization. The substrate used for coating was AISI-SAE 430 stainless steel that is considered as a typical, formerly used interconnect material. Also, for the purpose of the metal-oxide scale interfacial study, ZMG232 stainless steel that is a specially designed interconnect alloy was used. It is shown that the composite coatings greatly reduce the contact resistance and effectively inhibit Cr outward migration. In addition, it was determined that the presence of impurities in the steel, especially Si, and the absence of reactive elements drastically contribute to interconnect degradation. / Materials Science and Engineering