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Coatings
Special Issues
Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications
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Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 5690

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stoyan Karakashev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Natural Sciences, Shumen University "Episkop Konstantin Preslavsky", 117, Universitetska Str. 117, Shumen, Bulgaria
Interests: thin liquid films; wetting; foams; emulsions; ion-specific effects; surfactants; smart systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to submit your work to this Special Issue on “Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-Scale Applications”. The research field of thin films has undergone intensive development in recent decades due to the large number of applications, for example in the design of coatings for specific purposes in a variety of industries, as drug carriers in medicine, as reagents in the mineral industry, nano- and microsensors in bio-molecular engineering, stimuli, responsive foams and emulsions in the pharmaceutical industry, preservative layers in the food industry, and many more. From the nano to macro scale, thin films have been used to modify the properties of various surfaces by means of fundamental science on atomistic and molecular levels. You are invited to share your research, whether fundamental or application oriented. In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Coatings on surfaces for specific purposes;
  • Nanoparticles carrying specific reagents;
  • Foam, emulsion and wetting films—fundamentals and applications;
  • Development of flotation reagents for specific minerals;
  • Development of nano- and microsensors;
  • Smart foams and emulsions;
  • Development of edible layers as preservatives;
  • Super-spreading layers;
  • Adsorption phenomena on various surfaces;
  • Super-hydrophobic and super-hydrophilic surfaces for specific purposes.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Stoyan Karakashev
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • smart coatings
  • thin liquid films
  • smart foams and emulsions
  • flotation
  • super-spreaders
  • adsorption phenomena
  • nano- and microsensors
  • drug carriers
  • wetting phenomena

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 3891 KiB  
Article
Study on Low-Temperature Deposition of Diamond-like Carbon Film on the Surface of Bionic Joint Thread and Its Properties
by Chuanliu Wang and Shaoming Ma
Coatings 2024, 14(11), 1409; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14111409 - 6 Nov 2024
Viewed by 610
Abstract
The double-connection structure of bionic joints of mining drill pipes has solved the problem of drill drop caused by fatigue cracks. However, with low-melting-point elastic–ductile alloy filling in the bionic joint, the thread on the joint cannot be hardened by high-temperature surface hardening [...] Read more.
The double-connection structure of bionic joints of mining drill pipes has solved the problem of drill drop caused by fatigue cracks. However, with low-melting-point elastic–ductile alloy filling in the bionic joint, the thread on the joint cannot be hardened by high-temperature surface hardening treatments such as quenching and nitriding, making it prone to thread gluing or excessive wear. In this paper, the feasibility of diamond-like film deposition on the surface of a bionic drill pipe thread was studied. A tungsten transition film was used to improve the thickness of the film and the interfacial bond strength between the film and the substrate. The test results show that the total thickness of the DLC film is about 3~5 μm, the roughness is less than 2 μm, the hardness of the film reaches 24.4 GPa, the friction coefficient is 0.04, and the critical load is 56 N. SEM and EDS analyses show that the tungsten film and the bionic joint thread form a metallurgical structure. The morphology of the diamond-like carbon film is uniform and dense, and there is no obvious stratification between the substrate material. The joint with a diamond-like coating treatment has a longer service life than joints receiving conventional high-temperature nitriding treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications)
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14 pages, 2297 KiB  
Article
Control of Cell Adhesion and Growth on Polysaccharide-Based Multilayer Coatings by Incorporation of Graphene Oxide
by Tonya Andreeva, Alexander Rudt, László Fábián, Ferhan Ayaydin, Ivan Iliev, Ole Jung, Mike Barbeck, Andras Dér, Rumen Krastev and Stefka G. Taneva
Coatings 2024, 14(5), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14050570 - 5 May 2024
Viewed by 1842
Abstract
Controlling cell adhesion, viability, and proliferation on solid surfaces is critical for the successful implantation and proper functioning of temporary and permanent medical devices. While, with temporary or removable implants as well as surgical instruments, even slight cellular adhesion leads to an increased [...] Read more.
Controlling cell adhesion, viability, and proliferation on solid surfaces is critical for the successful implantation and proper functioning of temporary and permanent medical devices. While, with temporary or removable implants as well as surgical instruments, even slight cellular adhesion leads to an increased risk of secondary infections, bleeding and other complications, good cellular adhesion and viability are essential for the rapid healing and successful integration of permanent implants. This work was motivated by the growing interest in the construction of biocompatible and biodegradable coatings for the biofunctionalization of medical devices. Polysaccharide-based coatings are well known for their biocompatibility, but they are non-cell-adhesive, which hinders their application as implant coatings. In this study, we demonstrate that the incorporation of one or more graphene oxide layers in hyaluronic acid/chitosan multilayers is one avenue to regulate the degree of unspecific adhesion and growth of different cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells, HUVEC, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, 3T3). Furthermore, we demonstrate that this approach allows cell adhesion to be regulated across the entire range between completely prevented and highly promoted cell adhesion without introducing systemic cytotoxicity. These findings may contribute to the establishment of a new approach to adapt medical devices to cells and tissues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications)
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15 pages, 15433 KiB  
Article
Tribological Properties of Hard TiB2 Thin Films Prepared at Low Temperatures Using HiPIMS
by Jianjian Yu, Ping Zhang, Puyou Ying, Changhong Lin, Tao Yang, Jianbo Wu, Chen Li, Min Huang and Vladimir Levchenko
Coatings 2024, 14(4), 492; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14040492 - 16 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1244
Abstract
Magnetron-sputtered WS2 composite thin films are solid lubricants with excellent performances. However, the low hardness of the WS2 thin films necessitates the further improvement of their wear resistance. For this purpose, an effective strategy is to alternately deposit or code posit [...] Read more.
Magnetron-sputtered WS2 composite thin films are solid lubricants with excellent performances. However, the low hardness of the WS2 thin films necessitates the further improvement of their wear resistance. For this purpose, an effective strategy is to alternately deposit or code posit WS2 and a hard phase, such as TiB2, to form hard lubricant thin films. Herein, a TiB2 thin film was prepared under the same conditions as those used for depositing the WS2 thin film with a dense structure and excellent tribological properties. Because of the high deposition energy of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), the TiB2 thin film possesses a dense structure and leather-like flat surface (hardness = 24.17 GPa). The friction coefficient of the film under different loads ranges between 0.6 and 0.8. The wear rate of the thin film increases with load, mainly because of fatigue wear and abrasive wear. Under high loads, obvious furrow-like wear marks are observed. At different sliding frequencies, except 8 Hz, the friction coefficient of the film ranges from 0.6 to 0.8. The main wear mode is fatigue wear, particularly at increasing sliding frequencies. Although the film possesses a relatively high friction coefficient, its wear resistance is excellent (minimum wear rate = 1.96 × 10−6 mm3/(N·m)). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications)
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25 pages, 3272 KiB  
Article
Counter-Ion Effect on the Surface Potential of Foam Films and Foams Stabilized by 0.5 mmol/L Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate
by Nidelina Petkova, Dilyana Ivanova-Stancheva, Nikolay A. Grozev, Kristina Mircheva and Stoyan I. Karakashev
Coatings 2024, 14(1), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14010051 - 28 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1333
Abstract
It is well known that the type of counter-ion affects the state of the adsorption layer of ionic surfactants and, consequently, its surface potential. Yet, it is not clear how they affect the foamability, the rate of foam decay or foam production. How [...] Read more.
It is well known that the type of counter-ion affects the state of the adsorption layer of ionic surfactants and, consequently, its surface potential. Yet, it is not clear how they affect the foamability, the rate of foam decay or foam production. How is the surface potential of the air/water interface related to the properties of the foam? This work aims to answer these questions. Foam films, stabilized by 0.5 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in the presence of added LiCl, NaCl, and KCl, were studied by means of the interferometric experimental setup of Scheludko–Exerowa. The surface potential values were derived from the equilibrium film thickness by means of the DLVO theory. A linear relation between the values of the surface potential and specific adsorption energy of the counter-ions on the air/water interface was established. The slope of this linear relation depends on the salt concentration. The foamability, the rate of foam decay, and the foam production of the same aqueous solutions of SDS and added salts were studied by means of the shaking method. A correlation was found between the derived surface potential of the foam film’s surfaces and the properties of the foam. The foam production, which is the ratio between the initial foam volume and the rate of foam decay, increases with the decrease in the surface potential. Previous studies in the literature confirm that the lower surface potential promotes higher surfactant adsorption, thus boosting more foam and vice versa. It was also confirmed that the dual effect of KCl on foam production involves converting the best foam stabilizer into a foam suppressor at the highest salt concentration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Films and Their Multi-scale Applications)
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