Research into sustainable surface finishing at the University of Leicester

Figures & data

Table 1. Authors’ research interests.

Author	Research interests
Hannah Hilton-Tapp	PhD researcher in the Centre for Sustainable Materials Processing and Mechanics of Materials groups at University of Leicester, in her 3rd year of study. Research interests include electrochemical deposition of nanocomposites and the application of these to new power generation technologies. ORCiD: 0000-0001-6057-8558
Dr Stephen Viles	Former postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Sustainable Materials Processing, currently a Process Engineer for Turbine Surface Technologies. Research interests include electrochemical deposition and electropolishing of substrates for aerospace applications. ORCiD: 0000-0002-2909-6451
Dr Shiladitya Paul	Associate professor, School of Engineering, University of Leicester and Director of Materials Innovation Centre (MatIC). Research interests include the industrial development and application of coatings, materials and corrosion mitigation methods. ORCiD: 0000-0002-8423-313X
Dr Ramy Mesalam	Programme Director for Spacecraft Engineering and the Deputy Head of the Mechanics of Materials research group at University of Leicester. He works between School of Engineering and Space Park Leicester. Key research area of interest is the development of new power generation technologies, in the form of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) for space exploration activities as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) funded programme. ORCiD: 0000-0001-6096-1063
Dr David Weston	Lecturer in the School of Engineering at University of Leicester. His key research area of interest is the electrodeposition of nanocomposite coatings using novel pulse-reverse plating techniques. ORCiD: 0000-0002-0016-4027
Prof Karl Ryder	Director for the Centre for Sustainable Materials Processing, a professor of physical chemistry in the School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, and a Royal Society Industry Fellow. His research is focused on electrochemical deposition and dissolution processes, specifically from sustainable processing methods. ORCiD: 0000-0003-2803-6884

Figure 1. Secondary electron SEM images of RR1000 HIP alloy electropolished for 120 min at 10 V in 2Eg:ChCl, (a) image showing the boundary region between unpolished (top) and polished (bottom) surfaces, (b) SEM in profile showing the etch-step edge (taken with permission from ref. 15).

Figure 2. Rolls-Royce Trent IP turbine blade before (top) and after (bottom) electropolishing in 2Eg:ChCl for 30 min in a six-blade batch trial process (taken with permission from ref. 16).

Figure 3. Back-scattered electron SEM images of cobalt-SiC nanocomposite, produced by pulse-reverse plating (PRP) technique (taken with permission from ref. 18).

Figure 4. Toolbox of techniques to process a range of metallic and semiconductor structures in organic and inorganic phases (adapted from ref. 20).

Figure 5. Images showing a battery anode before and after processing with different ultrasonication techniques. An ultrasonic bath (power intensity ∼ 0.02 W cm⁻²) at room temperature for 5 mins was used in images (a–d). (a) and (b) show electrode material made with gelatin binder and (c) and (d) show electrode material made with sodium alginate binder. Images (e) and (f) show the effect of a high-powered ultrasonic horn (power intensity ∼ 398 W cm⁻²) on the gelatin electrodes at 10% power for 5 s (taken with permission from ref. 23).

Figure 6. Optical-electrochemical monitoring of thermal sprayed aluminium coating with 30% of exposed steel after removing the calcareous deposits formed on the top of the steel (C-30R). Top: open circuit potential (OCP) measurement over 30 s. Bottom: Original and processed sequential images (taken with permission from ref. 28).

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