Research programme
Corrosion protection
In the field of corrosion protection our research is focused on the following topics:
ALD coatings
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) stands out as a novel, innovative and advanced technology which provides the ability to obtain very thin protective films on the surface of metals. This technique is advantageous over most other coating techniques, because of its possibility to obtain conformal films even on very complex 3D substrates, with a strict thickness tolerance. In addition, ALD is characterised by nano-scale accuracy, high thickness uniformity, high conformity, low processing temperature, and formation of defect- and impurity-free films. The essence of the process is that two distinct reactants, which are called precursors, are separately exposed to the growth surface, and the reaction occurs between a monolayer of first precursor and a second precursor to form a solid thin film.
Due to its great potential for producing very thin layers, ALD method is involved in a broad spectrum of applications, from microelectronics, metal films, capacitors, and corrosion barrier. Our work is focused on the latter application where 100-200 nm thin Al2O3 and HfO2 films are used for corrosion protection of aluminium alloys, stainless steel and titanium alloys.
Figure: A scheme of the four steps that comprise an ALD cycle on the example of TiO2 film formation.
Publications related to ALD coatings
I. Spajić, E. Rahimi, M. Lekka, R. Offoiach, L. Fedrizzi, I. Milošev, J. Electrochem. Soc., 2021, 168, 071510-1–071510-16.
I. Spajić, P. Rodič, G. Šekularac, M. Lekka, L. Fedrizzi, I. Milošev, Electrochim. Acta, 2021, 366, 137431-1-16.
Projects related to ALD coatings
H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017-764977 Advanced integrative solutions to corrosion problems beyond micro-scale: toward log-term durability of miniturized Biomedical, Electronic and Energy systems, acronym mCBEEs, prof. dr. Ingrid Milošev, 2017–2021, (coordinator dr. Maria Lekka, University of Udine, Italy)