Objective: In this study, α-Fe2O3 thin film was formed on a glass substrate to study the impact of adding cold plasma on the self-cleaning and antibacterial properties of the samples. Method: The samples were synthesized using the chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) method at 450°C. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and atomic force microscope were used to investigate the morphological and structural characteristics of α-Fe2O3 thin layers prior to and following plasma injection. Finding: The degree of wettability and antibacterial characteristics of iron oxide (hematite) thin film were evaluated in the presence of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria prior to and following plasma injection, given the great potential of plasma injection in the surface modification of thin films. Novelty: The findings indicate that exposing plasma to α-Fe2O3thin film produces substantial changes in morphology, self-cleaning, and antibacterial characteristics. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-01-06 Full Text: PDF

The current work aims to investigate the effect of sand particle size, applied load, and kenaf fibre orientation on the three-body abrasion wear behaviour of epoxy composite subjected to high stress. Experiments were conducted using a dry sand/steel wheel apparatus at different applied loads (5-20 N). The tests were performed at a rotational speed of 100 rpm (corresponding to 1.152 m/s) for 300 s test duration. The sizes of the sand particles were 370-390 μm, 650-750 μm, and 1200-1400 μm with a fixed flowrate of 4.5 g/s. The composite was tested in three different orientations, namely parallel, anti-parallel, and normal (P-O, AP-O, and N-O). Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the damage features on the worn surfaces of the composite. The results revealed that the fibre orientation highly influenced the wear and frictional behaviour of the composite. In N-O, the wear and frictional performance were better when compared to the other orientations. The wear mechanism was predominated by detachment and breakage of fibres, fracture, and defragmentation in the epoxy regions when the composite was tested in P- and AP-O. Meanwhile, micro-cracks on the end of the fibres are the pronounced wear mechanism in the KFRE tested in N-O.