Stainless steel, a type of steel used for high-temperature parts, may cause damage when exposed to high temperatures, requiring additional coatings. In particular, the Cr2O3 product layer is unstable at 1000oC and higher temperatures; therefore, it is necessary to improve the oxidation resistance. In this study, an aluminide (Fe2Al5 and FeAl3) coating layer was formed on the surface of STS 630 specimens through Al diffusion coatings from 500oC to 700oC for up to 25 h. Because the coating layers of Fe2Al5 and FeAl3 could not withstand temperatures above 1200oC, an Al2O3 coating layer is deposited on the surface through static oxidation treatment at 500oC for 10 h. To confirm the ablation resistance of the resulting coating layer, dynamic flame exposure tests were conducted at 1350oC for 5–15 min. Excellent oxidation resistance is observed in the coated base material beneath the aluminide layer. The conditions of the flame tests and coating are discussed in terms of microstructural variations.

In this study, we report the microstructure and the high-temperature oxidation behavior of Fe-Ni alloys by spark plasma sintering. Structural characterization is performed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The oxidation behavior of Fe-Ni alloys is studied by means of a high-temperature oxidation test at 1000oC in air. The effect of Ni content of Fe-Ni alloys on the microstructure and on the oxidation characteristics is investigated in detail. In the case of Fe-2Ni and Fe-5Ni alloys, the microstructure is a ferrite (α) phase with body centered cubic (BCC) structure, and the microstructure of Fe-10Ni and Fe-20Ni alloys is considered to be a massive martensite (α’) phase with the same BCC structure as that of the ferrite phase. As the Ni content increases, the micro-Vickers hardness of the alloys also increases. It can also be seen that the oxidation resistance is improved by decreasing the thickness of the oxide film.

In this study, PtRu nanoparticles deposited on binary carbon supports were developed for use in direct methanol fuel cells using carbon blacks (CBs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The particle sizes and morphological structures of the catalysts were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and the PtRu loading content was determined using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. The electrocatalytic characteristics for methanol oxidation were evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry with 1 M CH3OHin a 0.5 MH2SO4 solution as the electrolyte. The PtRu particle sizes and the loading level were found to be dependent on the mixing ratio of the two carbon materials. The electroactivity of the catalysts increased with an increasing MWCNT content, reaching a maximum at 30% MWCNTs, and subsequently decreased. This was attributed to the introduction of MWCNTs as a secondary support, which provided a highly accessible surface area and caused morphological changes in the carbon supports. Consequently, the PtRu nanoparticles deposited on the binary support exhibited better performance than those deposited on the single support, and the best performance was obtained when the mass ratio of CBs to MWCNTs was 70:30.

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) and mixed diboride of (Zr0.7Ta0.3)B2 containing 30 vol.% silicon carbide (SiC) composites were prepared by hot-pressing at 1800˚C. XRD analysis identified the high crystalline metal diboride-SiC composites at 1800˚C. The TaB2 addition to ZrB2-SiC showed a slight peak shift to a higher angle of 2-theta of ZrB2, which confirmed the presence of a homogeneous solid solution. Elastic modulus, hardness and fracture toughness were slightly increased by addition of TaB2. A volatility diagram was calculated to understand the oxidation behavior. Oxidation behavior was investigated at 1500˚C under ambient and low oxygen partial pressure (pO2~10-8 Pa). In an ambient environment, the TaB2 addition to the ZrB2-SiC improved the oxidation resistance over entire range of evaluated temperatures by formation of a less porous oxide layer beneath the surface SiO2. Exposure of metal boride-SiC at low pO2 resulted in active oxidation of SiC due to the high vapor pressure of SiO (g), and, as a result, it produced a porous surface layer. The depth variations of the oxidized layer were measured by SEM. In the ZrB2-SiC composite, the thickness of the reaction layer linearly increased as a function of time and showed active oxidation kinetics. The TaB2 addition to the ZrB2-SiC composite showed improved oxidation resistance with slight deviation from the linearity in depth variation.

This paper describes the mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of carbon fibers with and without additions of boron oxide additives, and describes the changes in the properties resulting from increased heat treatment temperature (HTT) of the fibers. Carbon fibers in this experiment were heat treated up to 2800℃ each with and without boron oxide treated on the surface of fibers. In the case of boron oxide added carbon fibers, they do not show the improvement of tensile strength and modulus compared to those of no treated carbon fibers below 2200℃ since they are doped substitutionally with boron above 2600℃, which accelerate the graphitization of carbon fibers. Boron oxide implanted carbon fibers showed high resistance to oxidation, however, when carbon fibers were heat treated below 2200℃, they showed almost the same trend of air oxidation.