Effects of Chemical Compositions on Plating Characteristics of Alkaline Non-Cyanide Electrogalvanized Coatings.

The effects of zinc and sodium hydroxide concentrations in an alkaline non-cyanide zinc bath on the electrodeposition characteristics of zinc deposits are systematically investigated. Using microstructural and phase analyses of specimens with specifically designed geometries, the study indicates that the bath formulations critically control the electrogalvanizing characteristics and affect the coating surface morphology, deposition rate, throwing power, coating uniformity, and residual stresses developed during and after electrogalvanizing. The coatings produced from baths with a moderate Zn-to-NaOH ratio of 0.

Design of stable nanocrystalline alloys.

Nanostructured metals are generally unstable; their grains grow rapidly even at low temperatures, rendering them difficult to process and often unsuitable for usage. Alloying has been found to improve stability, but only in a few empirically discovered systems. We have developed a theoretical framework with which stable nanostructured alloys can be designed.