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    Electrolytic preparation of cyclic multilayer Zn-Ni alloy coating using switching cathode current densities
    (2010) Venkatakrishna, K.; Hegde, A.C.
    Cyclic multilayer alloy (CMA) coating of Zn-Ni was developed on mild steel using single bath technique, by proper manipulation of cathode current densities. The thickness and composition of the individual layers were altered precisely and conveniently by cyclic modulation of cathode current densities. Multilayer coatings, having sharp change in compositions were developed using square current pulses. Gelatin and sulphanilic acid (SA) acid were used as additives. Laminar deposits with different configurations were produced, and their corrosion behaviors were studied, in 5% NaCl solution by electrochemical methods. It was observed that the corrosion resistance of CMA coating increased progressively with number of layers (up to certain optimal numbers) and then decreased. Cyclic voltammetry study demonstrated the role of gelatin and SA in multilayer coating. The coating configuration has been optimized for the peak performance against corrosion. The substantial decrease of corrosion rate, in the case of multilayer coatings was attributed to the changed intrinsic electric properties, evidenced by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) study. The surface morphology and its roughness were examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The surface and cross-sectional view of coatings were examined, using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) study was carried out for surface analysis. The relative performance of pure Zn, monolithic and CMA coatings were compared and discussed. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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    Novel Co-Ni-graphene composite electrodes for hydrogen production
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Subramanya, B.; Ullal, Y.; Shenoy, S.U.; Bhat, D.; Hegde, A.C.
    Active, stable and cost-effective electrocatalysts are key to water splitting for hydrogen production through electrolysis. Herein, we report the facile preparation of highly porous Co-Ni-graphene (Co-Ni-G) composite electrodes by electrodeposition for electrocatalytic applications. The incorporation of graphene into the Co-Ni matrix enhances the catalyst's activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline solution. The best coating exhibits a maximum current density of -850 mA cm-2 at -1.6 V, which is approximately 4 times better than that of the binary Co-Ni alloy indicating higher activity for hydrogen production. The addition of graphene to an electrolyte bath results in a porous encapsulated bundle of alloy nano-particles within the graphene network which effectively increases the electrochemically active surface area. As indicated by XPS analysis results, on addition of graphene the Co(0) and Ni(0) content in the deposit increases and as a result both cobalt/cobalt oxide and nickel/nickel oxide sites are evenly distributed on the Co-Ni-G electrode surface which is responsible for increased HER activity. The Tafel slope analysis showed that the HER follows a Volmer-Tafel mechanism. The structure-property relationship of the Co-Ni-G composite coating has been discussed by interpreting field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.
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    Morphological and structural characterisation of sol-gel electrospun Co3O4 nanofibres and their electro-catalytic behaviour
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) George, G.; Elias, L.; Hegde, A.C.; Anandhan, S.
    Evolution of hydrogen and oxygen are a crucial part of many renewable energy systems. The replacement of the essential and expensive components in such systems can reduce the capital cost and improve the effectiveness of those systems. In this study, Co3O4 nanofibres were fabricated from sol-gel assisted electrospun poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile)/cobalt acetate tetrahydrate precursor composite fibres. The morphological and compositional features of the Co3O4 nanofibres obtained after calcination of the precursor nanofibers were studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of X-ray diffraction study and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the average grain size of the fibres increased with the calcination temperature. Clear evidence of defects in the fibres was observed in ultraviolet-visible-near infrared and energy dispersive spectroscopic measurements. The electrocatalytic behaviour of Co3O4 nanofibres obtained at different calcination temperatures was studied using them for the water splitting reaction in an alkaline medium. The maximum efficiency in the hydrogen evolution reaction was achieved using the Co3O4 nanofibres obtained at the lowest calcination temperature, which had the highest surface area and the smallest grain size. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.
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    Electrochemical studies on the corrosion resistance of Zn–Ni–Co coating from acid chloride bath
    (Springer, 2020) Bhat, R.S.; Manjunatha, K.B.; Prasanna Shankara, R.; Venkatakrishna, K.; Hegde, A.C.
    Anticorrosive deposits are a valuable approach to defending against corrosion from mild steel structures/machinery equipment. The Zn–Ni–Co coating has been deposited on low carbon steel surfaces using environment friendly optimized acidic chloride bath with ZnCl2·6H2O, NiCl2·6H2O, CoCl2·6H2O, sulphanilic acid (C6H7NO3S) and gelatin (C6H8O6). The standard Hull cell technique has been adopted for the optimization of bath components and experimental conditions, for the superior corrosion resistant coating. The corrosion test with potentiodynamic polarization method was performed to investigate the role of pH on the film quality and corrosion performances of the films. Further, the effect of current densities on corrosion resistance, thickness and hardness, have been investigated. Cyclic voltammetry technique has been used to test the electrochemical properties of the Zn–Ni–Co coating in acidic solutions. The results revealed that the increase in the current density favoured the increase in Ni and Co content in the deposit, showed higher corrosion resistance and higher cathodic current efficiency. The structural and morphological characteristics of the alloy coating have been obtained through scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The atomic force microscope was used to examine the topographic structure of the coating. X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical composition of alloy coatings and verified by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The results indicate that a new and low-cost chloride bath for Zn–Ni–Co coating exhibit superior corrosion resistance properties and can be implement in various industrial applications such as automobiles, machine tools etc.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
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    Compositionally Modulated Multilayered Zn-Co Deposits for Better Corrosion Resistance
    (Springer, 2020) Bhat, R.S.; Venkatakrishna, K.; Nayak, J.; Hegde, A.C.
    Zn-Co compositionally modulated multilayer alloy (CMMA) deposits have been developed onto mild steel using single bath technique. Multilayer alloy coatings have been galvanostatically produced using square current pulses. The switched cathode current density and number of layers have been designed for improved corrosion resistance. Experimental data revealed that multilayer coating with 120 layers at 10/30 mA/cm2 demonstrated ~ 125 times higher resistance to corrosion than monolayer alloy coating of the same thickness. The improved corrosion resistance of multilayer coatings is due to small changes in the wt.% cobalt, leading to change in the phase structure of deposit in alternate layers. The defects and failures occurring in a single layer in the deposition process are covered by the alternatively deposited coating layers. Therefore, the direction of the corrosive agent is extended or blocked. Further, the better corrosion resistances afforded by Zn-Co CMMA coatings were explained through changes in electronic properties at the interface, supported by Mott-Schottky’s plot. However, the decrease of corrosion resistance at a high degree of layering is attributed to the less relaxation time for redistribution of solutes in the diffusion layer, during plating. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance data showed its good protection ability. The enhanced corrosion resistance of multilayered deposits is due to small change in cobalt content, leading to alter the phase structure of the alternate-layers of the deposits. The structural morphology and the topographical structure of the coating were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Evaluation of the chemical composition of the alloy coatings was carried out by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. © 2020, ASM International.