Hybrid organophosphonic-silane coating for corrosion protection of magnesium alloy AZ91: The influence of acid and alkali pre-treatments

This work reports the development of environmentally friendly coatings for the protection against corrosion of AZ91 magnesium alloy substrates. As a novelty, the synergic combination of the use of silica precursors and phosphonic acid molecules has been investigated for first time in the protection of AZ91 Mg alloy. Hybrid films have been prepared by the sol–gel synthesis using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methylmethoxysilane (MTMS), as co-monomers; and 1,2-diaminoethanetetrakismethylenephosphonic acid (EDTPO) and phenylphosphonic acid (PhPA), as adhesion promoter molecules. In order to improve the homogenous deposition of the silica network, several chemical pre-treatments were approached. The highest corrosion resistance, as determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), has been observed for the AZ91 Mg alloy submitted to a passivation treatment with Na3PO4/NaOH, before the sol-gel deposition. Particularly, the addition of low concentrations of EDTPO, which contains four active phosphonic groups, improves considerably the coating's resistance, as demonstrated by EIS, due to the formation of multiple covalent interactions with silica network and the passivated metal substrate.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Hybrid organophosphonic-silane coating for corrosion protection of magnesium alloy AZ91: The influence of acid and alkali pre-treatments

This work reports the development of environmentally friendly coatings for the protection against corrosion of AZ91 magnesium alloy substrates. As a novelty, the synergic combination of the use of silica precursors and phosphonic acid molecules has been investigated for first time in the protection of AZ91 Mg alloy. Hybrid films have been prepared by the sol–gel synthesis using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methylmethoxysilane (MTMS), as co-monomers; and 1,2-diaminoethanetetrakismethylenephosphonic acid (EDTPO) and phenylphosphonic acid (PhPA), as adhesion promoter molecules. In order to improve the homogenous deposition of the silica network, several chemical pre-treatments were approached. The highest corrosion resistance, as determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), has been observed for the AZ91 Mg alloy submitted to a passivation treatment with Na3PO4/NaOH, before the sol-gel deposition. Particularly, the addition of low concentrations of EDTPO, which contains four active phosphonic groups, improves considerably the coating's resistance, as demonstrated by EIS, due to the formation of multiple covalent interactions with silica network and the passivated metal substrate.Peer Reviewe

Sol-gel hybrid films based on organosilane and montmorillonite for corrosion inhibition of AA2024

The present work reports the production of films on AA2024-T3 composed of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS)/tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with incorporation of montmorillonite (sodium montmorillonite and montmorillonite modified with quaternary ammonium salt, abbreviated Na and 30B, respectively), generated by the sal-gel process. According to FT-IR analyses the incorporation of montmorillonite does not affect silica network. Electrochemical characterization was performed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement in 0.05 mol L-1 NaCl solution. Results indicate that montmorillonite incorporation improves the corrosion protection compared to the non-modified system. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal that high concentrations of montmorillonite provide agglomerations on the metallic surface, which is in detriment of the anticorrosive performance. The VTMS/TEOS/30B films with the lowest concentration (22 mg L-1) of embedded clay provide the highest corrosion protection. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

Engineering approaches for drug delivery systems production and characterization

To find and to test the therapeutic effectiveness (and the limited adverse effects) of a new drug is a long and expensive process. It has been estimated a period of ten years and an expense of the order of one billion USD are required. Meanwhile, even if a promising molecule has been identified, there is the need for operative methods for its delivery. The extreme case is given by gene therapy, in which molecules with tremendous in-vitro efficacy cannot be used in practice because of the lack in useful vector systems to deliver them. Most of the recent efforts in pharmaceutical sciences are focused on the development of novel drug delivery systems (DDSs).In this review, the work done recently on the development and testing of novel DDSs, with particular emphasis on the results obtained by European research, is summarized. In the first section of the review the DDSs are analyzed accordingly with their scale-size: starting from nano-scale (liposomes, nanoparticles), up to the micro-scale (microparticles), until the macroscopic world is reached (granules, matrix systems). In the following two sections, non-conventional testing methods (mechanical methods and bio-relevant dissolution methods) are presented; at last, the importance of mathematical modeling to describe drug release and related phenomena is reported

Sol-gel hybrid films based on organosilane and montmorillonite for corrosion inhibition of AA2024

The present work reports the production of films on AA2024-T3 composed of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS)/tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with incorporation of montmorillonite (sodium montmorillonite and montmorillonite modified with quaternary ammonium salt, abbreviated Na and 30B, respectively), generated by the sal-gel process. According to FT-IR analyses the incorporation of montmorillonite does not affect silica network. Electrochemical characterization was performed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurement in 0.05 mol L-1 NaCl solution. Results indicate that montmorillonite incorporation improves the corrosion protection compared to the non-modified system. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal that high concentrations of montmorillonite provide agglomerations on the metallic surface, which is in detriment of the anticorrosive performance. The VTMS/TEOS/30B films with the lowest concentration (22 mg L-1) of embedded clay provide the highest corrosion protection. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe