Double magnetron sputtering (DMS) is an efficient system that is well known because of its precise control of the thin film synthesizing process over any kind of substrate. Here, DMS has been adopted to synthesize BiVO4 films over a conducting substrate (FTO), using metallic vanadium and ceramic Bi2O3 targets simultaneously. The films were characterized using different techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and profilometry. The photo-electrochemical analysis was performed using linear scan voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) under the illumination of simulated solar light at 1 Sun. The photocurrent density of the sputtered BiVO4 thin films could be improved from 0.01 mA cm(-2) to 1.19 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V vs. RHE by chemical treatment using potassium hydroxide (KOH). The effect of KOH was the removal of impurities from the grain boundaries, leading to a more porous structure and more pure crystalline monoclinic BiVO4 particles. Such variations in the microstructure as well as the improvement of the charge transfer properties of the BiVO4 film after the KOH treatment were confirmed and studied in depth by EIS analysis.
Titanium-Tantalum coatings are deposited by magnetron co-sputtering technique, using independently driven titanium and tantalum targets. The effect of the Ta content on the structure, mechanical, and wear properties of Ti films is investigated. It is found that the percentage of the added Ta varies linearly from 3.7 to 31.3 at% by increasing the power applied to the Ta target from 10 to 100 W. The XRD results show that the coatings are crystalline, and there is no evidence of the formation of intermetallic phases, instead formation of metastable phases of α 00 and β depending on Ta content are observed, though the samples are deposited at low temperature (150 C). It is shown that the elastic strain to failure (H/E r ; hardness to reduced elastic moduli ratio) can be increased by 40% through the formation of crystalline phases with a lower E, while the hardness remains constant. The tribological study shows that increasing the Ta content up to 14.9 at% causes a significant improvement in adhesion of the coating to a soft metallic substrate.
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