Electrocodeposited Quasicrystalline Coatings for Non-Stick Wear Resistant Cookware

Abstract

Lynntech, Inc has successfully researched and demonstrated a unique method for the manufacture of quasicrystalline (QC) coatings that utilizes the process of electrocodeposition. The purpose of this study was to optimize the physical-mechanical properties of the QC coatings. All metal substrates were aluminum alloy Al-3004 and codeposition was performed using Al 65 Cu 23 Fe 12 QC powders in nickel plating solutions. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy was performed in order to verify the attachment of quasicrystals to the aluminum alloy substrate and coated samples displayed identical spectra to those of raw QC powders. The average contact angle θ was 117.2° for electrocodeposited QC coatings. Friction was monitored during pin-ondisk wear tests and QC coated samples had coefficients of friction as low as 0.01 and an average value of 0.05 with samples showing no visible wear scar. Lynntech's electrocodeposited quasicrystalline coatings withstand high temperatures and exhibit low wear and friction characteristics with a low surface energy making them ideal for cookware, as well as various other applications such as bearings, landing gear and engine parts, where thermal and mechanical conditions are prime importance.

Impact of Tuned Oxidation on the Surface Energy of Sintered Samples Produced from Atomised B-Doped Al-Cu-Fe Quasicrystalline Powders

“…Below 10-12 nm of oxide thickness, it has been shown to vary in inverse proportion to the thickness of the oxide [13], suggesting a coupling between the electronic distribution on the liquid molecules (e.g., the electric dipole of the water molecule) on the one hand and the topology of the quasicrystal's Fermi surface on the other [15]. The same trend was observed with water deposited on Al-based quasicrystalline coatings [16][17][18][19] and films [20], with quasicrystal-reinforced composites [21], and even with liquid metals on Al-Co approximants [22].…”

The various modes of growth of metals on quasicrystals

“…This precursor can be deposited on a substrate under vacuum using varieties of sputtering techniques or alternatively using e-beam evaporation. A procedure that does not necessitate vacuum (but necessitates a metal substrate) involves using an Al-Cu-Fe powder in suspension in a Ni-containing electrolyte to perform electrodeposition [50]. However, these are not epitaxial systems, in that there is no structural relationship between the substrates and the thin films grown thereon.…”

The Method of Selection Lawsand Its Applications to Crystallography

“…Currently we know that there exists many kinds of materials which do not possess exact periodicity, ranging from amorphous materials (as is the case of glasses [5]) to more structured materials, such as liquid crystals [6] and quasicrystals [7]. All these materials are targets for recent scientific research in search of new technological solutions [8][9][10]. It would thus be interesting to have a more general method, also encompassing those cases.…”