A Ukrainian university offers technology for multilayer functional coatings deposition

Multilayer coatings are actual topic due to need to increase the service life of products by improving anti-corrosion and mechanical protection of their surface, as well as the mechanical strength of coatings with a hierarchically developed surface for electrode materials for hydrogen evolution reaction and alcohol oxidation. The university has experience in working with functional materials. The staff has experience (including international) in electrochemical formation of functional coatings. The group of researchers has equipment for electrochemical studies and instrument for testing microhardness. The multilayer coatings consist of many thin (less than 100 nm thickness) layers of metals, alloys or hydroxides of different composition. The number of alternate thin layers in coating can be around 300. The copper-nickel multilayer coatings are designed for increasing the corrosion resistance and improving the mechanical properties of the surface of metal products, as well as providing the catalytic properties of the anode surface in reactions of organic substances oxidation, such as methanol in fuel cells. The copper-nickel multilayer coating containing 50-80% of nickel is characterized by microhardness of 410-680 HV, plasticity. It is well-adhered with an electronegative surface such as the surface of neodymium magnets. Multilayer coating consisting of layers of nickel-copper alloy and mixture of metals and their hydroxides is characterized by improved properties, compared with single-layer coating. The catalytic activity in the electrooxidation reactions is increased in 1.5-2 times. The stability of surface properties is also higher. Zinc-nickel coatings show high corrosion resistance as they containing mainly γ-phase. Varying the composition of alloy in multilayer coating leads to the formation of the coating with desired protective properties. The multilayer antimony-doped tin dioxide coating on titanium substrate obtained by electrochemical method provides catalytic activity in electrochemical destruction of organic pollutions (e.g. phenol). The coating has higher life service compared to antimony-doped tin dioxide coating. The economic appropriateness of using multilayer coatings caused by saving materials due to product life increase and the production cost reduction. The University is looking for industrial partners and R&D Institutions to jointly develop and commercialize the technology and is open for research and technical cooperation agreements.