Material degradation through corrosion is a major threat to any process industry. The losses due to corrosion can be either direct or indirect. Combating this problem by engineering the surfaces is the economically viable solution. Chemical Vapor Deposition is the modern technology whereby the condensation of the solid material takes place from the vapor phase at a higher temperature. CVD finds extensive applications in optical, ceramic, electronic and allied industries. The possibility of controlling the deposition composition, microstructure, and making tailor-made coatings for specific applications has made CVD more user-friendly. This review briefly reviews the thermodynamics, kinetics, design and technological aspects of Chemical Vapor Deposition, and also summarizes its potential use for surface engineering for corrosion and wear protection.

Polyphosphates and organophosphonates are used as corrosion inhibitors in cooling waters. Biocides are also added to avoid microfouling by cooling water in industries. This work has been undertaken to find the influence of biocides such as quaternary ammonium compounds like cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetyl pyridinium bromide (CPB) on the corrosion of mild steel and copper in the presence of phosphonates. Cationic biocides are found to be highly efficient and the killing efficiency is found to be more for CTAB than CPB. On the other hand, CPB is found to be better than CTAB when biocides are used with inhibitor. Between the two metals chosen, the inhibition efficiency towards copper was observed to be more than mild steel due to the addition of CTAB and CPB with inhibitor. Polarization studies revealed that the presence of biocide CTAB with inhibitor gives the inhibition efficiency of about 80% for mild steel. CPB with inhibitor shows higher interference between biocide and inhibitor, whereas CPB alone is found to act as an inhibitor for copper (73%), which shows that the inhibitor might interfere in the biocidal action on copper.

The aqueous electropolymerisation process can be used for the production of primer coatings on metals. Recent studies have shown that such types of coatings are highly corrosion resistant. Further it is also shown that electropolymerisation coating with pigment is feasible. Besides, the use of polymers such as polyaniline as pigment in paint coatings has been demonstrated. This review summarises the electropolymerisation studies carried out on steel and copper.

Studies on corrosion and microfouling on 316-stainless steel were carried out in natural pond water. The effect of freshwater biofilm on corrosion of 316 stainless steel in natural environment has been found out by various methods like potential measurement, polarization and impedance measurements for an exposure period of 100 days. Fresh water biofilm was able to ennoble the corrosion potential of 316 stainless steel. Less corrosion current and high resistance values were observed for 316 stainless steel in presence of pond water biofilm. The broad phase angle obtained from impedance measurements indicates the presence of intact passive film on 316- stainless steel in the presence of natural biofilm.

A series of phase-pure Co- and Al-substituted lithium nickel oxide solid solutions of the composition LiNi0.7Al0.3−xCoxO2 with x=0.0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 0.3, has been synthesized by adopting urea-assisted combustion (UAC) route. The structure and the physico-electrochemical features of the doped materials have been evaluated through PXRD, FTIR, SEM, CV, and charge/discharge studies. The stabilization of Ni in the +3 state and the existence of enhanced 2D-layered structure without any cation mixing have been substantiated from XRD. The results of the XRD and FTIR studies have established the complete mixing of Al and Co with Ni, especially at the various levels and the combinations of the dopants attempted in the present study. The enhanced electrochemical performance of LiNi0.7Al0.3−xCoxO2 may be attributed to the “synergetic effect” resulting from the presence of both Al3+ and Co3+ dopants in the LiNiO2 matrix. From CV studies, it was understood that the addition of 10% Co is effective in suppressing the phase transformation during Li+ intercalation process that leads to better electrochemical properties. The effect and the extent of substitution of Ni with Al and Co on the structural and electrochemical performance of LiNi0.7Al0.3−xCoxO2 are discussed elaborately in this communication.

A detailed investigation has been made on the possibility of synthesizing LiNiO2 through different methods using a variety of precursors and varying heat treating conditions with a view to identify a suitable method to synthesize LiNiO2 and to understand the influence of synthesis method and the nature of the precursors towards the performance characteristics of LiNiO2 In this regard, four different methods, viz., solid-state, organic precursors, solution combustion and microwave methods were adopted involving suitable combinations of lithium and nickel precursors. All the synthesized compounds were characterized for their phase purity (PXRD), local cation environment (FTIR), particle size, surface area, and electrochemical behavior (charge-discharge). Based on the results obtained especially from PXRD and charge-discharge studies, the "all-hydroxide" precursors of Li and Ni were found to be effective in yielding battery active LiNiO2 as far as the solid-state and microwave-assisted methods are concerned. With regard to solution synthesis methods, citrate precursor and the combustion method involving hydrazine hydrate fuel were found to yield better performing LiNiO2, compared to the rest of the combinations attempted in both categories. However, among the wet chemistry based solution methods the present study recommends solution combustion method with hydrazine hydrate as fuel to synthesize electrochemically active LiNiO2 as it was found to exhibit a stable discharge capacity of 177 mAh/g at least up to 20 cycles.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion is responsible for most of the internal corrosion problems in oil transportation pipelines and storage tanks. One problematic area in treating gas lines is the occurrence of the stratification of water in the line. Under these conditions, corrosion inhibitors do not come into contact properly and oil and inhibitors undergo degradation. The role of bacteria on oil degradation, the consequences of oil degradation in fuel systems and its influence on corrosion have been explained in detail. Besides, factors influencing on degradation of oil and corrosion inhibitors have also been discussed. Mechanism of microbiologically influenced corrosion in oil pipeline has been explained. Many of the misapplication of biocides/inhibitors occur mainly because the characteristics of biocides/inhibitors are not considered before use in pipeline industry. List of biocides and monitoring programme have been collected from literature and presented.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion is responsible for most of the internal corrosion in oil transmission pipelines and storage tanks. In the present study, the role of bacteria on oil degradation and its influence on corrosion have been studied. Two systems (biotic and abiotic) with and without inorganic content and bacteria were employed for studying degradation and corrosion. The aerobic heterotrophic bacterial population (HB) was found to be higher in the presence of inorganic medium than its absence. The oil degradation by microbes was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The corrosion studies were carried out by gravimetric method. It was found that Gallionella sp. degraded aliphatic protons CH2CH2 to OCH2 whereas Brucella sp. converted only aromatic ring to aliphatic protons. The following inferences have been made from this study: (a) inorganic contents in contaminated water determine the oil degradation in storage tanks and transporting pipelines; (b) the degraded product may adsorb on pipeline, which would enhance the rate of microbial corrosion.

Electro-active polymers are important new class of semiconducting materials having unique and fascinating electronic transport properties, which is the prerequisite condition for making electrode materials for developing high performance devices like light emitting diodes, photodiodes, laser, batteries and capacitors. Among the different types of conducting polymers, polyaniline stands out as a separate class of conducting polymer, due to reversible electrochemical redox phenomenon, easy method of preparation and low cost. Making use of these advantageous properties doped polyaniline (d-PAn) materials have been put into practical application in fabricating rechargeable batteries by us. Cylindrical batteries have been designed with the configuration of Zu/d-PAn + electrolyte/Carbon. These batteries showed very good output characteristics delivering an open-circuit voltage of 1.433 V and a short-circuit current of 0.6 A. They showed good charge-discharge characteristics and satisfactory shelf life.

Li 2 CoMn 3 O 8 , a 5 V cathode material used in rechargeable lithium batteries, has been synthesized by adopting a novel technique of using fuels along with the nitrate reactants. The effect of the fuel on the synthesis of Li 2 CoMn 3 O 8 has been analyzed in terms of the physical and electrochemical properties of the final product formed by various methods such as solid-state carbonate fusion and the solution route using acetate and nitrate precursors. Powder X-ray diffraction FT IR spectrum, particle size, surface area and SEM analysis were carried out. The combustion method, also known as selfpropagating high temperature (SPHT) method, has been employed in the present study by using nitrate mixtures of the respective salts and a nitrogeneous fuel (urea or glycine) at a temperature of 300 °C for 3 hrs. The nitrate reactants without the addition of fuel gave only a deliquescent product even at elevated temperature (600 °C) thus indicating the necessity of fuels. Similar attempts using acetate reactants with and without the addition of nitrogeneous fuels were made separately in order to find out the necessity of fuel also in this case. The characterization of the product in terms of purity, single-phase formation and surface morphology suggested that the fuel played no role in the case of the acetate precursors. A comparative study was made on the products obtained by the acetate precursor, combustion method and the conventional carbonate method. Among the three methods, the combustion method with glycine as fuel yielded the spinel phase with high purity Li 2 CoMn 3 O 8 with superior electrochemical behavior both in terms of high cell voltage and good cycle life behavior.

Solid solutions of composition Li-Ni-Co-O are-attractive as high voltage and high capacity cathode materials for 4V lithium batteries. The problems associated with LiNiO2 like stringent synthesis conditions and cation mixing has created a necessity to search for other cathode materials with disparate composition and electrochemical features. In this context, compounds containing a mixture of Ni and Co are expected to alleviate these problems and to circumvent the traditional trade-off between the limited cycleability of LiNiO2, and high cost of LiCoO2. In this paper, a simple solution combustion route for the synthesis of various levels of Co substituted cathodes, viz., LiNi1-xCoxO2 (x = 0.0 to 1.0) is presented. Physical properties of the synthesized products were investigated in the light of diffraction (XRD) and spectroscopic (FTIR) analyses. The enhanced electrochemical performance of LiNi1-xCoxO2, due to the so-called synergetic effect resulting from the substitution of Ni3+ with Co3+ is discussed in detail.

Lithium intercalation and deintercalation processes occur through solid electrolyte interfaces (SEIs) on the zigzag and armchair faces of graphite. Such SEIs are formed by reaction of surface groups on the graphite with lithium upon charging. The nature of this interface to a large extent determines the reversible and irreversible capacities of the graphite. We have investigated the influence of mild oxidation of samples of natural graphite and carbon nanotubes on the surface characteristics of the films formed on these materials upon lithium intercalation. The surface groups formed upon oxidation have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The reversible and irreversible capacities of the thermally oxidized samples are discussed in terms of the surface film composition as well as enhanced surface area that contributes to increased number of sites for lithium intercalation.

Quaternary oxides of compositions LiNi Co O ( y50.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) were synthesized using a solid-state route from y 12y 2 carbonate precursors. Material characterization was carried out using XRD, FTIR and particle size analyses. The formation patterns of the products are discussed from TG-DTA results. Nickel-rich compositions gave higher discharge capacities and smaller hysteresis in the charge–discharge cycling profiles which make them more attractive candidates than the unsubstituted LiCoO for use in high energy 2 lithium-ion cells. However, the lower loss in capacity per cycle for cells with LiCoO , as determined from charge–discharge studies up to 2 25 cycles, makes them more suitable than the substituted oxides for long cycle-life cells with low fade.  2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Layered transition metal oxides of the formula LiMO2 have good lithium insertion properties for which reason LiCoO2 and LiNiO2 have been exploited in practical lithium rocking chair batteries. Another member of the LiMO2 series, LiFeO2, should be an attractive cathode material considering the cheapness and environment-friendliness of iron compounds. Its rock-salt structure, however, does not allow significant amounts of lithium to be reversibly intercalated in its structure. Synthesis of layered LiFeO2 and study of its lithium intercalating properties have been of limited success. Therefore, an attempt has been made here to study LiCo1−yFeyO2 solid solutions (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.4) as prospective cathode materials. XRD, FTIR, Atomic absorption spectroscopy, Particle size and Surface area analysis were carried out in this regard towards the physical characterization of the entire series of LiCo1−yFeyO2 compounds. The electrochemical discharge capacity of these materials is explained as a function of the iron content.

An attempt was made to synthesise PVdF-based polymer electrolytes containing 1:1 EC:PC plasticiser in various salts such as LiAsF6, LiPF6 and LiBF4 at different ratios using PVdF as homopolymer. Though, having a high ionic conductivity, certain films were found to be fragile, an indication of poor mechanical strength. Therefore, PVdF–PVC blend polymers were prepared using different ratios of PVdF–PVC as well as with different amounts of plasticiser mixture. Film characterisation was attempted using XRD, DSC, impedance and conductivity measurements. A particular combination of PVdF–PVC in the ratio 25:5 was observed to have high ionic conductivity and good mechanical strength. The electrochemical stability and the stability of lithium–polymer interface of the prepared polymer electrolytes were checked in terms of charge–discharge and impedance studies. Effect of storage time and cyclability are discussed.

Porous structures were formed on p-Si wafers under various anodization conditions in ethanolic solutions containing aqueous hydrofluoric acid. The observed photoluminescence at room temperature depends on the anodization current density and the anodization time. Polyaniline (PA) was incorporated into the pores of the porous silicon (PSi) structure by in-situ electrodeposition. The porous structure formation has been confirmed using XRD and SEM studies. Current- voltage (I-V) characteristics of the polyaniline filled PSi (PA/PSi) structure showed the possibility of using PA as an ohmic contact for PSi based devices.

The study reports the performance of polyaniline grafted polypropylene sheet as a substrate for electro-deposition of lead/lead dioxide as a lightweight grid for lead acid battery system.

Spinel lithium manganese oxide, LiMn2O4, is beset with problems of capacity fade upon repeated cycling. The loss in capacity upon cycling is attributable to Jahn-Teller distortion and manganese dissolution in the electrolyte in the charged state. One way to circumvent this capacity fade is to introduce other 3d bdtransition metal ions in the LiMn2O4 lattice. In this paper, we report on the effect of partial substitution of manganese in the LiMn2O4 phase with copper (II) and chromium (III) ions. It has been shown that the higher octahedral stabilization energy of trivalent chromium imparts greater structural stability to chromium-doped LiMn2O4 spinels. Both copper and chromium reduce the capacity of the spinel in the 4 V region. In terms of its good reversible capacity and ability to sustain cycling with minimal capacity fade, LiCr0.1Mn1.9O4 may be considered as a potential cathode material for lithium rechargeable cells.