Oxide coatings are formed on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy through an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO) process using an electrolytic solution of NaAlO2, KOH, and KF. The effects of PEO condition with different duty cycles (10 %, 20 %, and 40 %) and frequencies(500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz) on the crystal phase, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide coatings are investigated. The oxide coatings on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy mainly consist of MgO and MgAl2O4 phases. The proportion of each crystalline phase depends on various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency. The surfaces of oxide coatings exhibit as craters of pancake-shaped oxide melting and solidification particles. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide coating increase considerably with increase in the number of duty cycles, while the densification and thickness of oxide coatings increase progressively. Differences in the growth mechanism may be attributed to differences in oxide growth during PEO treatment that occur because the applied operating voltage is insufficient to reach breakdown voltage at higher frequencies. PEO treatment also results in the oxide coating having strong adhesion properties on the Mg alloy. The micro-hardness at the cross-section of oxide coatings is much higher not only compared to that on the surface but also compared to that of the conventional anodizing oxide coatings. The oxide coatings are found to improve the micro-hardness with the increase in the number of duty cycles, which suggests that various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency, are among the key factors controlling the structural and physical properties of the oxide coating.

Oxide layers were formed by an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process on AZ91 Mg alloy. PEO treatment also resulted in strong adhesion between the oxide layer and the substrate. The influence of the KF electrolytic solution and the structure, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide layer were investigated. It was found that the addition of KF instead of KOH to the Na2SiO3 electrolytic solution increased the electrical conductivity. The oxide layers were mainly composed of MgO and Mg2SiO4 phases. The oxide layers exhibited solidification particles and pancake-shaped oxide melting. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide layer decreased considerably with an increase in the concentration of KF, while densification of the oxide layers increased. It is shown that the addition of KF to the basis electrolyte resulted in fabricating of an oxide layer with higher surface hardness and smoother surface roughness on Mg alloys by the PEO process. The uniform thickness of the oxide layer formed on the Mg alloy substrates was largely determined by the electrolytic solution with KF, which suggests that the composition of the electrolytic solution is one of the key factors controlling the uniform thickness of the oxide layer.

ZnS powder was synthesized using a relatively facile and convenient glycothermal method at various reaction temperatures. ZnS was successfully synthesized at temperatures as low as 125 oC using zinc acetate and thiourea as raw materials, and diethylene glycol as the solvent. No mineralizers or precipitation processes were used in the fabrication, which suggests that the spherical ZnS powders were directly prepared in the glycothermal method. The phase composition, morphology, and optical properties of the prepared ZnS powders were characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, and UV-vis measurements. The prepared ZnS powders had a zinc blende structure and showed average primary particles with diameters of approximately 20~30 nm, calculated from the XRD peak width. All of the powders consisted of aggregated secondary powders with spherical morphology and a size of approximately 0.1~0.5 μm; these powders contained many small primary nanopowders. The as-prepared ZnS exhibited strong photo absorption in the UV region, and a red-shift in the optical absorption spectra due to the improvement in powder size and crystallinity with increasing reaction temperature. The effects of the reaction temperature on the photocatalytic properties of the ZnS powders were investigated. The photocatalytic properties of the assynthesized ZnS powders were evaluated according to the removal degree of methyl orange (MO) under UV irradiation (λ = 365 nm). It was found that the ZnS powder prepared at above 175 oC exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation, with nearly 95 % of MO decomposed through the mediation of photo-generated hydroxyl radicals after irradiation for 60 min. These results suggest that the ZnS powders could potentially be applicable as photocatalysts for the efficient degradation of organic pollutants.