Browsing by Author "Wang, Guang-Ren"

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Conformal Electrodeposition of Co-Ni to Improve the Mechanical Properties of Three-Dimensional Ordered Macroporous Ni Films
(2020-01-22)
Wang, Guang-Ren
;
Hung, Pei-Sung
;
Chang, Shou-Yi
;
Yang, Jenn-Ming
;
Tseng, Yuan-Chieh
Three-dimensional ordered macroporous Ni films, known as Ni inverse opals, are fabricated via a template approach in which polystyrene (PS) microspheres (820 nm in diameter) are assembled in closely-packed colloidal crystals via a vertical electrophoresis process, followed by electroplating of Ni into the interstitial voids within the colloidal crystals and the selective removal of PS microspheres. To improve its mechanical strength, a conformal Ni-Co layer (45 similar to 64 nm) is electrodeposited on the skeletons of the Ni inverse opals by cyclic voltammetry. After coating, from nano-indentation tests, the hardness and reduced elastic modulus are enhanced considerably (172 similar to 220% for hardness; 72 similar to 79% for reduced elastic modulus), as compared to those of pristine inverse opals. After an annealing treatment for the interdiffusion of Ni and Co, the sample reveals an even stronger hardness. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the finite thickness of the inverse opals skeletons induces preferential growth of the (111) plane. In short, a combined effect of solid solution alloying, thickening of inverse opals skeletons for greater load bearing, and a predominant (111) plane is responsible for the improved mechanical strength of the Ni inverse opals. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited.
Fabrication of TiO2-coated nanostructured Ni foams for improved mechanical properties
(2020-02-15)
Hung, Pei-Sung
;
Chou, Yu-Szu
;
Wang, Guang-Ren
;
Chung, Wei-An
;
Wu, Pu-Wei
We demonstrate a composite approach to improve the mechanical strength of nanostructured Ni foams by producing a conformal coating of TiO2 on the skeletons of the Ni foam. The nanostructured Ni foam is fabricated by a template approach in which colloidal crystals of polystyrene microspheres in 720 nm diameter are constructed by a vertical electrophoresis process, followed by electroplating of Ni to fill the interstitial voids among the closely-packed microspheres and removal of the colloidal template afterward. The formation of TiO2 overcoat is achieved by optimization of sol-gel synthesis to prepare desirable TiO2 sols and their subsequent electrophoresis toward the nanostructured Ni foam in a square wave pulsing mode. The thickness of the TiO2 deposit is proportional to the duration of pulsing electrophoresis. From nano-indentation, the TiO2 -coated nanostructured Ni foams exhibit notable improvements in hardness (53-68%) and reduced elastic modulus (26-37%) over those of pristine nanostructured Ni foams. This strategy of implementing a thin ceramic overcoat provides an effective mean to improve the mechanical properties of nanostructured metals.
High throughput fabrication of large-area colloidal crystals via a two-stage electrophoretic deposition method
(2019-09-10)
Hung, Pei-Sung
;
Liao, Chen-Hong
;
Chou, Yu-Szu
;
Wang, Guang-Ren
;
Wang, Chuan-Jyun
An effective and high-throughput method is demonstrated to produce a colloidal crystal with impressive crystallinity. The fabrication procedure involves a two-stage electrophoresis process in which a vertical electrophoretic deposition of polystyrene microspheres (495 nm) is conducted on an ITO substrate to form a colloidal crystal in size of 4 x 4 cm(2), followed by a horizontal electrophoresis to improve the packing crystallinity. Relevant parameters associated with the horizontal electrophoresis step including voltage polarity, bipolar voltage offset, and operation frequency are investigated. Their effects over the crystallinity of the colloidal crystals are verified quantitatively and qualitatively by structural observation via scanning electron microscope and optical reflectance spectra. We determine that the imposition of an alternately-changing bias of 80/0/-120/0 V at 10 Hz (25 ms in each bias) enables the production of colloidal crystals with the largest grain size (106 mm) and the smallest grain boundary (170 nm), as compared to samples prepared from a single vertical electrophoresis step. We attribute the improved crystallinity of the colloidal crystal to the bipolar bias that engenders localized movements of the microspheres, rendering them to pack more closely with reduced defects. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.