Issue 6, 2016

Making metal surfaces strong, resistant, and multifunctional by nanoscale-sculpturing

Abstract

Surfaces are the crucial and limiting factor in nearly all metal applications, especially when technologically relevant alloys are employed. Insufficient surface properties on the nano- and microscale of metals determine, e.g. metal–polymer composite stability, implant biocompatibility, or corrosion resistance. Conventional surface preparation is just like an arbitrary cut through the metal body optimized for bulk behavior so that such surfaces contain various element mixtures and complex microstructures in which grains and lattice planes vary in their chemical stability from weak to strong. In contrast, the here described novel nanoscale-surface sculpturing based on semiconductor etching knowledge turns surfaces of everyday metals into their most stable configuration, but leaves the bulk properties unaffected. Thus, nanoscale-sculpturing ensures stronger, reliable joints to nearly all materials, reduces corrosion vastly, and generates a multitude of multifunctional surface properties not limited to those shown below.

Graphical abstract: Making metal surfaces strong, resistant, and multifunctional by nanoscale-sculpturing

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
29 Jul 2016
Accepted
30 Aug 2016
First published
05 Sep 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2016,1, 467-472

Making metal surfaces strong, resistant, and multifunctional by nanoscale-sculpturing

M. Baytekin-Gerngross, M. D. Gerngross, J. Carstensen and R. Adelung, Nanoscale Horiz., 2016, 1, 467 DOI: 10.1039/C6NH00140H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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