Functional Ceramic Coatings Deposited by Solution Precurser Plasma Spray

溶液前驱体等离子喷涂（SPPS）是一种能够沉积几乎任何成分的涂层的工艺，方法是将与所需涂层成分相对应的前驱体盐溶液注入直流电弧等离子体。从溶液中快速形成的固体导致极细的晶粒尺寸，通常在20-30纳米量级。涂层结构的范围可以从极高的孔隙率到几乎完全致密。然而，为了能够可靠地沉积所需结构、成分和性能的涂层，涉及到许多复杂的现象，并且在理解和控制该过程方面存在重大挑战。

Solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS) is a process capable of depositing coatings of almost anycomposition by injecting solutions of precursor salts corresponding to the desired coating composition into a DC-arc plasma. The rapid formation of the solid from the solution results in extremely fine crystallite sizes, typically on the order of 20-30 nm. Coating structures can range from extremely high porosities to nearly completely dense. However, a number of complex phenomena are involved and significant challenges exist in understanding and controlling the process in order to be able to reliably deposit coatings of the desired structure, composition, and properties. The proposed research programme will extend and expand our recent work in SPPS. There are two major objectives. One is to further develop and demonstrate the potential of this process to produce unique, high performance deposits of for specific applications. Of particular interest is the electrochemical performance of functional ceramic coatings as electrodes in ultra-capacitors and Li-ion batteries. The second major objective is to develop a better understanding of the phenomena involved in the process through coupling of experiments, diagnostics, and characterization of coating microstructures with numerical modelling of the evaporation, break-up and collision of droplets in the plasma, the precipitation of product phases in the droplets, the heating, melting, and impact of the particles on the substrate.