Célia de Fraga Malfatti

A review of the recycling of non-metallic fractions of printed circuit boards

There is a big waste generation nowadays due to the growing demand for innovation and the fact that more and more products have a reduced lifetime, increasing the volume of dumps and landfills. Currently, one of the segments of large volume is the technology waste, which reflects on the printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are the basis of the electronics industry. This type of waste disposal is difficult, given that recycling is complex and expensive, because of the diversity of existing materials and components, and their difficult separation process. Regarding the material involved in PCBs, there are metal fractions (MFs) and non-metallic fractions (NMFs), of which the recycling of NMFs is one of the most important and difficult processes, because they amount to about 70% of the weight of the PCB’s waste. In the present paper, a literature review of the recycling of non-metallic fractions (NMFs) has been carried out, showing different studies and guidelines regarding this type of recycling, emphasizing that this type of waste still lacks for further application.

Characterization of Siloxane-poly(methyl methacrylate) Hybrid Films Obtained on a Tinplate Substrate Modified by the Addition of Organic and Inorganic Acids

Tinplate is used to food packaging and other types of packages. The corrosion resistance of the tinplate has been study due the necessity of an alternative to high environmental impact of chromatization process. Therefore protective coatings as hybrid films base elaborations with different acids are studied to improve the barrier effect against corrosion. The objective of this work is characterize hybrid films deposited on a tinplate from a sol made up of the alkoxide precursors 3-(trimethoxysilylpropyl)methacrylate (TMSM), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) together with one of three acids (acetic, hydrochloric or nitric acid) and to verify their action against the corrosion of the substrate. The films were obtained by a dip-coating process and cured for 3 hours at 160 °C. The film hydrophobicity was determined by contact angle measurements, and the morphology was evaluated by SEM. FTIR measurements were performed to characterize the chemical structures of the films. The electrochemical behavior of the coatings was evaluated by techniques open circuit potential monitoring (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results demonstrate that the siloxane-PMMA films improve the protective properties of the tinplate, with the films obtained by acetic acid addition exhibiting the greatest improvement.

Effect of Tetraethoxy-silane (TEOS) Amounts on the Corrosion Prevention Properties of Siloxane-PMMA Hybrid Coatings on Galvanized Steel Substrates

Siloxane-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) organic-inorganic hybrid coatings were deposited on galvanized steel by the dip-coating sol-gel technique. Anticorrosion properties, as well as the morphological, surface and structural features were studied. Hybrid coatings were synthesized from tetraethoxy-silane (TEOS) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as inorganic and organic phases, respectively, linked by 3-metacriloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (TMSM) as a coupling agent. The MMA/TMSM ratio was kept constant, whereas the four TEOS/TMSM ratios were varied. The characterization of coatings was assessed using several techniques such as Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Contact Angle, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Open Circuit Polarization (OCP), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy measurements (EIS). The EIS results, which were obtained for the hybrid coatings, were discussed based on an electrical equivalent circuit used to adjust the experimental data. The results showed that the increasing the TEOS content caused increase in coating thickness, increased in the surface roughness and increased in the surface hydrophobicity. The film with the highest TEOS content presented the best electrochemical performance, more effective in protecting against corrosion.

Effect of curing temperature and architectural (monolayer and bilayer) of hybrid films modified with polyethylene glycol for the corrosion protection on tinplate

Hybrid films obtained by a sol-gel process are based on two important reactions: hydrolysis and condensation. The condensation reaction is influenced by the curing temperature, since it induces the development of the intrinsic properties of the gel. The aim of this work is to coat tinplate, a substrate widely used in the packaging industry, with monolayered and bilayered hybrid films modified with polyethylene glycol and obtained through dip-coating. The results showed that the bilayered hybrid film obtained at 60oC had a higher layer thickness, and the best performance in the electrochemical assays, as well as the most hydrophobic character, in relation to the other samples. For the monolayered systems, the 90oC-cured system showed a lower layer thickness; however, this system showed a more compact, uniform and less porous layer, and presented better electrochemical impedance results, in comparison with the 60oC-cured samples.

New Sol-gel Formulations to Increase the Barrier Effect of a Protective Coating Against the Corrosion and Wear of Galvanized Steel

This study proposes a new pretreatment method that uses alkoxide precursors with a plasticizing agent; the purpose of this study is to improve the electrochemical and mechanical properties of a galvanized steel surface. Galvanized steel was covered with a hybrid film obtained from a sol that consisted of two alkoxide precursors, 3 - (trimethoxysilylpropyl) methacrylate (TMSM) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), with nitrate cerium in a concentration of 0.01 M and a polyethylene glycol (PEG) plasticizer. The hybrid coatings were obtained by dip-coating method with various concentrations of plasticizer (0, 20, 40 and 60 g.L-1). The hybrid films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), profilometry, contact angle measurements, a tribometer with the type-setting ball on the plate and electrochemical tests. The addition of the plasticizer into the hybrid films improves the corrosion resistance behavior compared to the sample without the plasticizer. The addition of 20 g.L-1 of plasticizer showed the best performance in the electrochemical tests. The mechanical behavior results indicated that higher PEG concentrations resulted in films with enhanced durability.

The Electrochemical Behavior of the NiTi Alloy; in Different Simulated Body Fluids

In order to improve the NiTi alloy biocompatibility, surface treatments become very important. Nevertheless, researchers use different solutions to simulate the body fluids in electrochemical assays, and the correlation between the obtained results is difficult and might not even be possible. The present paper evaluated the electrochemical behavior of polished NiTi surfaces exposed to different simulated body fluid solutions: Hanks solution, Hanks’ balanced salt (HBSS) solution, saline body fluid (SBF) solution, and Ringer solution. The electrochemical behavior of NiTi was evaluated by open circuit potential (OCP) and cyclic voltammetry tests. The surfaces of the samples were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy, which was performed after the electrochemical tests. The results demonstrated that the NiTi alloy shows the same corrosion mechanism (pitting) in all simulated body fluids that were studied. However, the corrosion potential changes for each electrolyte, being HBSS, SBF and Ringer the most corrosive solutions. Furthermore, the Hanks and HBSS solutions demonstrated good reproducibility of the electochemical results. Considering that the HBSS represents an extreme environment, this solution seems to be the most indicated to study the corrosion behavior of NiTi treated surfaces.

Pristine Ta3N5 Nanotubes: Trap-Driven High External Biasing Perspective in Semiconductor/Electrolyte Interfaces

Ta3 N5 is a promising photoelectrode for solar hydrogen production; however, to date pristine Ta3 N5 electrodes without loading co-catalysts have presented limited photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. In particular, large external biasing has been required to run water oxidation, the origin of which is investigated herein. Ta3 N5 nanotubes (NTs) prepared by nitridation were characterized by a wide range of techniques. The bandgap was confirmed by a novel PEC technique. Nondestructive synchrotron-excited XPS has shown the presence of reduced Ta species deeper in the Ta3 N5 surface. Lower photocurrent and transient spikes that were intense at lower applied biasing were observed under water oxidation; however, spikes were inhibited in the presence of a sacrificial agent and photocurrent was improved even at low biasing. It was observed for the first time that the lower PEC performance under water oxidation can be attributed to the presence of interband trapping states associated with pristine Ta3 N5 NTs/electrolyte junction. These states correspond to the structural defects in Ta3 N5 , devastate PEC performance, and present the necessity to apply higher biasing. The key to circumvent them is to use a sacrificial agent in the electrolyte or to load a suitable co-catalyst to avoid hole accumulation under water oxidation, thereby improving the phootocurrent. The findings on the interband states could also provide guidance for the investigation of PEC properties of new types of semiconducting devices.

Effect of the Shot Peening Process on the Corrosion and Oxidation Resistance of AISI430 Stainless Steel

Ferritic stainless steels are used in specific applications where corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and a high mechanical resistance are required. Shot peening is a process applied to add residual compression stresses in metallic surfaces with the intent of improving the material when exposed to corrosion due to stress and fatigue. Some studies about the effect of the shot peening process on the fatigue resistance, bending fatigue behavior, and residual surface stress in the ferritic stainless steels have been performed. However, the effect of the shot peening process on the corrosion and oxidation resistance of the stainless steel is not well known. In this context, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the shot peening process on these superficial properties of ferritic AISI430 stainless steel. The obtained results showed that the ferritic AISI430 stainless steel samples treated with shot peening presented a significant modification on the surface morphology and an important decrease of oxidation and corrosion resistance, evidencing that the shot peening process compromises the chemical and physical properties of the surface.

Hybrid films with (trimethoxysilylpropyl) methacrylate (TMSM), poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) applied on tinplate

The tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) influences morphological and electrochemical properties of hybrid films by function of concentration. Moreover, the use of acetic acid as a catalyst in the sol enables a more complete hydrolysis of the silane precursors due to the fact that the acetic acid goes through a more complete ionization when in aqueous solution. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of the concentration of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) on the protective properties of the film on tinplate substrate. The tinplate was coated with a hybrid film obtained from a sol-gel method constituted of the following alkoxide precursors: 3 - (trimetoxisililpropil) methacrylate (TMSM) and poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA. The effect of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) concentration has also been evaluated. The films hydrolysis was performed at a pH value of 3.0 using acetic acid as a catalyst. The films were obtained by dip-coating process, cured for 3 hours at 160 °C. The film morphology was evaluated by SEM and profilometry. The electrochemical behavior of the films was evaluated by open circuit potential monitoring, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The film hydrophobicity was determined by contact angle measurements. The studied films have shown good performance as to corrosion resistance on tinplate. The hybrid film which was obtained through the addition of an excessive amount of TEOS (T3A3) showed increased thickness. Nevertheless, due to an intense densification of the film, promoted by the addition of TEOS, a formation of cracks was registered, thereby compromising the corrosion resistance.

Temperature influence on SCC behaviour of duplex stainless steel

Some studies have related damages in duplex stainless steel (DSS) structures due to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), however, different mechanisms are observed depending of the electrolyte, temperature, electrochemical potential and steel composition. Wherefore, the SCC mechanisms of the AISI 318 DSS in a 115 000 ppm of chloride solution at 25 and 70°C were investigated. The results showed that the SCC cracks propagated in both phases, ferrite and austenite. A reduction in elongation was observed at anodic potentials caused by electrochemical dissolution and at cathodic potentials below −650 mVECS at 70°C and −750 mVECS at 25°C related to SCC mechanism. Accordingly, the more susceptible and protective potentials were determined for DSS in both temperatures.