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Crystals
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Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials
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Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystalline Metals and Alloys".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2025 | Viewed by 2728

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wenbo Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 5200, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
Interests: tribology; lubrication; corrosion; tribocorrosion; surface engineering
Dr. Auezhan Amanov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, 33720 Tampere, Finland
Interests: tribology; fretting; fatigue; surface severe plastic deformation; surface engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhengwu Fang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 5200, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
Interests: severe plastic deformation; grain boundary engineering; nanocrystalline materials; electron microscopy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface modification plays a crucial role in enhancing the practical performance of metallic materials, such as preventing premature mechanical failures, enhancing electrical conductivity, achieving controllable tribology behaviour, boosting corrosion resistance, improving biocompatibility, etc., enabling them to meet the growing challenges posed by industries.

The purpose of this Special Issue, entitled “Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials”, is to compile research on various surface modification techniques, including severe plastic deformation treatment, surface manufacturing, introducing layers or coatings, and other innovative techniques. In addition, it aims to explore and investigate the relationship between processing, modified surface microstructure, performance, and the environmental conditions in which a material is intended to be utilized through experimental, simulation, or combined methods. Lastly, this Special Issue intends to provide guidelines and strategies for improving the performance of metallic materials for practical applications, benefiting both academic and industrial communities.

Dr. Wenbo Wang
Dr. Auezhan Amanov
Dr. Zhengwu Fang
Guest Editors

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. Crystals 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 2100 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

  • surface modification
  • severe plastic deformation
  • coating
  • microstructure
  • residual stress
  • grain size refinement
  • extreme environment
  • metallic materials
  • tribology
  • corrosion

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6277 KiB  
Article
Impact of Ag Coating Thickness on the Electrochemical Behavior of Super Duplex Stainless Steel SAF2507 for Enhanced Li-Ion Battery Cases
by Hyeongho Jo, Jung-Woo Ok, Yoon-Seok Lee, Sanghun Lee, Yonghun Je, Shinho Kim, Seongjun Kim, Jinyong Park, Jonggi Hong, Taekyu Lee, Byung-Hyun Shin, Jang-Hee Yoon and Yangdo Kim
Crystals 2025, 15(1), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15010062 - 9 Jan 2025
Viewed by 430
Abstract
Li-ion batteries are at risk of explosions caused by fires, primarily because of the high energy density of Li ions, which raises the temperature. Battery cases are typically made of plastic, aluminum, or SAF30400. Although plastic and aluminum aid weight reduction, their strength [...] Read more.
Li-ion batteries are at risk of explosions caused by fires, primarily because of the high energy density of Li ions, which raises the temperature. Battery cases are typically made of plastic, aluminum, or SAF30400. Although plastic and aluminum aid weight reduction, their strength and melting points are low. SAF30400 offers excellent strength and corrosion resistance but suffers from work hardening and low high-temperature strength at 700 °C. Additionally, Ni used for plating has a low current density of 25% international copper alloy standard (ICAS). SAF2507 is suitable for use as a Li-ion battery case material because of its excellent strength and corrosion resistance. However, the heterogeneous microstructure of SAF2507 after casting and processing decreases the corrosion resistance, so it requires solution heat treatment. To address these issues, in this study, SAF2507 (780 MPa, 30%) is solution heat-treated at 1100 °C after casting and coated with Ag (ICAS 108.4%) using physical vapor deposition (PVD). Ag is applied at five different thicknesses: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 μm. The surface conditions and electrochemical properties are then examined for each coating thickness. The results indicate that the PVD-coated surface forms a uniform Ag layer, with electrical conductivity increasing from 1.9% ICAS to 72.3% ICAS depending on the Ag coating thickness. This enhancement in conductivity can improve Li-ion battery safety on charge and use. This result is expected to aid the development of advanced Li-ion battery systems in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials)
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17 pages, 11260 KiB  
Article
Surface Cladding of Mild Steel Coated with Ni Containing TiO2 Nanoparticles Using a High-Temperature Arc from TIG Welding
by Kavian O. Cooke, Ayesha Mirza, Junlin Chen and Alaa Al Hausone
Crystals 2024, 14(12), 1048; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14121048 - 30 Nov 2024
Viewed by 691
Abstract
This study explores the use of a high-temperature arc generated during tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding to enhance the mechanical properties of the surface of AISI 1020 steel. An innovative two-step process involves using the high-temperature arc as an energy source to fuse [...] Read more.
This study explores the use of a high-temperature arc generated during tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding to enhance the mechanical properties of the surface of AISI 1020 steel. An innovative two-step process involves using the high-temperature arc as an energy source to fuse a previously electrodeposited Ni/TiO2 coating to the surface of the substrate. The cladded surface is characterised by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), an optical microscope (O.M.) equipped with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Vicker’s microhardness testing, and pin-on-plate wear testing. The treated surface exhibits a unique amalgamation of hardening mechanisms, including nanoparticle dispersion strengthening, grain size reduction, and solid solution strengthening. The thickness of the electrodeposited layer appears to strongly influence the hardness variation across the width of the treated layer. The hardness of the treated layer when the Ni coating contains 30 nm TiO2 particles was found to be 451 VHN, validating an impressive 2.7-fold increase in material hardness compared to the untreated substrate (165 VHN). Similarly, the treated surface exhibits a twofold improvement in wear resistance (9.0 × 102 µm3/s), making it substantially more durable in abrasive environments than the untreated surface. Microstructural and EDS analysis reveal a significant reduction in grain size and the presence of high concentrations of Ni and TiO2 within the treated region, providing clear evidence for the activation of several strengthening mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials)
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18 pages, 28935 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Varying Parameters of Laser Surface Alloying Post-Treatment on the Microstructure and Hardness of Additively Manufactured 17-4PH Stainless Steel
by Alexander S. Chaus, Oleg G. Devoino, Martin Sahul, Ľubomír Vančo and Ivan Buranský
Crystals 2024, 14(6), 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14060569 - 20 Jun 2024
Viewed by 992
Abstract
In the present work, the evolution of the microstructure in additively manufactured 17-4PH stainless steel, which was subjected to laser surface alloying with amorphous boron and nitrogen at the varying process parameters, was studied. The main aim was to improve surface hardness and [...] Read more.
In the present work, the evolution of the microstructure in additively manufactured 17-4PH stainless steel, which was subjected to laser surface alloying with amorphous boron and nitrogen at the varying process parameters, was studied. The main aim was to improve surface hardness and hence potential wear resistance of the steel. Scanning electron microscopy, wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) were used. It was shown that the final microstructure developed in the laser-melted zone (LMZ) is dependent on a variety of processing parameters (1 and 1.5 mm laser beam spot diameters; 200, 400, and 600 mm/min laser scan speeds), which primarily influence the morphology and orientation of the eutectic dendrites in the LMZ. It was metallographically proven that a fully eutectic microstructure, except for one sample containing 60 ± 4.2% of the eutectic, was revealed in the LMZ in the studied samples. The results of WDS and AES also confirmed alloying the LMZ with nitrogen. The formation of the boron eutectic and the supersaturation of the α-iron solid solution with boron and nitrogen (as a part of the eutectic mixture) led to enhanced microhardness, which was significantly higher compared with that of the heat-treated substrate (545.8 ± 12.59–804.7 ± 19.4 vs. 276.8 ± 10.1–312.7 ± 11.7 HV0.1). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Surface Modifications of Metallic Materials)
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