Aluminium electrodeposition from ionic liquid: Effect of deposition temperature and sonication

Since their discovery, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted a wide interest for their potential use as a medium for many chemical processes, in particular electrochemistry. As electrochemical media they allow the electrodeposition of elements that are impossible to reduce in aqueous media. We have investigated the electrodeposition of aluminium from 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride ((Bmim)Cl)/AlCl3 (40/60 mol %) as concerns the effect of deposition parameters on the quality of the deposits. Thick (20 μm) aluminium coatings were electrodeposited on brass substrates at different temperatures and mixing conditions (mechanical stirring and sonication). These coatings were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope, roughness measurements, and X-ray diffraction to assess the morphology and the phase composition. Finally, electrochemical corrosion tests were carried out with the intent to correlate the deposition parameters to the anti-corrosion properties

Aluminizing via Ionic liquid electrodeposition and pack cementation: A comparative study with inconel 738 and a CoNiCrAlY

A novel aluminizing process based upon room temperature Al-electrodeposition from Ionic Liquids followed by diffusion heat treatment was applied on bare- and CoNiCrAlY-coated Inconel 738 (IN738). The aluminized samples were tested by isothermal oxidation at 1000 °C in air. The microstructural and chemical evolution of the samples were determined as function of oxidation time and compared with the currently applied coatings obtained via pack cementation. The newly proposed method is suitable for the CoNiCrAlY coating, but not for the bare IN738. In the latter, the formed Al-enriched layer is much thinner and the anticorrosion properties resulted in being reduced. This is probably due to the presence of precipitates, which slow down the aluminum inward diffusion impairing the formation of a well-developed interdiffusion zone (IDZ). Traces of the electrolyte, embedded during the Al-electrodeposition process, can be seen as the origin of these precipitates

Executive functions in children with specific learning disorders: Shedding light on a complex profile through teleassessment

Executive Functions (EFs) are high-order cognitive processes relevant to learning and adaptation and frequently impaired in children with specific learning disorders (SLDs). This study aimed to investigate EFs in children with SLD and explore the role of specific EF-related subprocesses, such as stimuli processing and processing speed. Fifty-seven SLD and 114 typically developing (TD) children, matched for gender and age, completed four tasks measuring response inhibition, interference control, shifting, and updating on a web-based teleassessment platform. The results show that SLD children performed lower in all EF tasks than TD children, regardless of stimulus type and condition. Mediation analyses suggested that differences between the SLD and TD groups are mediated by EF-related subprocesses, offering an interpretative model of EF deficits in children with SLD

Chemical variability of artificial stone powders in relation to their health effects

The occurrence of highly severe silica-related diseases among the resin- and silica-based artificial stone workers was claimed, associated to an extremely short latency. High levels of exposure and intrinsic properties of AS are thought to modulate the development of silicosis and auto-immune diseases. This study compares parent materials and processed dusts, to shed light on changes of AS occurring in the manufacturing process, through an XRF, EPR and XAS investigation. We point out the extremely wide variability of the materials, the occurrence of chemical signatures impressed by the processing techniques, and the unprecedented generation of stable radicals associated to the lysis of the Si-O chemical bond inside the resin coated respirable crystalline silica. These results suggest that the AS processing in industrial stone workshops can create respirable dusts with peculiar physical and chemical properties, to be correlated to the observed clinical evidences