Chapter Four · failure evidence
What Thin-Film Coating & Vapor Deposition got wrong, from 90 dissertations
The records describe various experimental failures and process limitations encountered across physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and solution coating techniques. These issues frequently stem from mechanical degradation, interfacial bonding deficiencies, thermal sensitivity, and uncontrolled deposition kinetics. These records come from PhD theses at 24 institutions, 2021 to 2026. Each links to its thesis. They were extracted by language models reading the full text, so treat each as a lead to read, not a verdict.
Coating delamination occurs due to poor interfacial bonding and high residual stresses
Films and coatings detach, peel, or debond from their substrates during washing, mechanical testing, or thermal processing. These failures are driven by insufficient adhesion, absence of surface pretreatments, energetic ion bombardment stresses, or environmental moisture intercalation.
Tried and failed
electrodeposition of graphene-metal nanocomposite coatings applied to screen-printed carbon electrodes. Outcome: unstable. Reason: poor coating adhesion led to layer detachment and instability upon washing
Biosensors for exhaled breath condensate analysis · Imperial
Tried and failed
low-temperature chemical vapor deposition applied to flexible polymer substrates with oxide coatings. Reason: poor interfacial adhesion causing film delamination during mechanical tape testing
Tried and failed
physical vapor deposition of crystalline porous frameworks applied to ceramic substrate coatings. Outcome: unstable. Reason: weak interfacial adhesion caused the deposited layer to detach during solvent washing
Framework-based nanofiltration membranes for liquid separation · Imperial
Tried and failed
direct chemical vapor deposition of diamond applied to gallium nitride substrates. Reason: weak interfacial adhesion and film delamination due to lack of carbide bond formation
Tried and failed
physical vapour deposition of thin-film wear coatings applied to cutting tools for multimaterial stack machining. Reason: low adhesion and mechanical stresses caused coating delamination and peeling during drilling
Stack drilling of CFRPT/TI using coated and uncoated tools. · Cranfield
Tried and failed
electron-beam physical vapor deposition metal lift-off applied to patterning metals on topographic microelectrode arrays. Outcome: unstable. Reason: directional deposition caused poor sidewall coverage and thermal stress led to film peel-off
Multimodal And Multifunctional CMOS Cellular Sensing And Actuating Array With Enhanced Electronics-Biology Interface · Georgia Tech
Tried and failed
electron-beam physical vapor deposition of thick silicon dioxide applied to gallium nitride substrates. Outcome: unstable. Reason: film peeling above ~500 nm caused by high tensile residual stress
Development, Fabrication and Characterization of III-Nitride Bipolar Devices: Rectifiers, Avalanche Photodiodes, and Laser Diodes · Georgia Tech
Lost to a baseline
Single HA coating obtained through electrodeposition had low bonding strength of about 4–6 MPa and peeled off compared to duplex MAO/HA coatings
Tried and failed
PVD sputter deposition without substrate negative bias applied to metallic multilayer coatings on superalloys. Outcome: unstable. Reason: lack of ion bombardment caused poor interfacial adhesion leading to delamination after heat treatment
Low mass platinum aluminide bondcoat for thermal barrier coating · Cranfield
Tried and failed
thermal spray deposition without electrochemical surface pretreatment applied to protective coatings on reactive metal substrates. Outcome: unstable. Reason: lack of intermediate conversion layer caused poor adherence, high film porosity, and spontaneous delamination
Protection of magnesium alloys from corrosion using magnesium rich surfaces. · Cranfield
Tried and failed
sulfide vapor deposition coating applied to porous metal foam current collectors. Outcome: unstable. Reason: poor interfacial coating adhesion caused delamination and exposed base metal, triggering premature voltage runaway
Microstructural design principles for stable interphases in alkali-metal and anode-free batteries · UT Austin
Tried and failed
cathodic electrodeposition at high current density applied to protective coating deposition on alloy substrates. Outcome: unstable. Reason: High current density caused poor nucleation, film discontinuity, and detachment of deposited cluster layers
Protection of magnesium alloys from corrosion using magnesium rich surfaces. · Cranfield
Tried and failed
direct coating of polymer-metal composites applied to stainless steel substrates. Reason: poor interfacial bonding causing delamination during standard tape adhesion testing
Iron-Based Microstructures For Biodegradable And Non-Biodegradable Applications · Penn
Tried and failed
Low-pressure magnetron sputtering of oxide coatings applied to multilayer thin-film optoelectronic stacks. Outcome: unstable. Reason: High compressive stress induced by energetic ion bombardment caused thin-film delamination
Lost to a baseline
Under dynamic flow and salt spray conditions, CBS-pigmented coatings suffered complete delamination while pure epoxy experienced only partial delamination
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected polymer insulating coating on stainless steel electrode holders because it debonded at the nozzle exit causing short circuits, replaced by epoxy resin moulding via metallographic press
Enhanced surface finishing of bearing raceways · Cranfield
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Abandoned e-beam evaporation for Pt electrode deposition in favor of sputter deposition to resolve poor adhesion issues
The impact of mass transport and surface charging on the performance of field effect transistor biosensors · Georgia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected spin coating and low-pressure vapour deposition silanisation methods in favour of liquid immersion silanisation (3% v/v silane in EtOH with 0.1% acetic acid) due to superior prevention of mould delamination.
Fabrication of Polymeric Nano- and Micro-structures using Two-Photon Polymerisation and Replica Moulding · Research Repository UCD
Tried and failed
vacuum-assisted physical seed coating applied to porous ceramic hollow fiber membranes. Outcome: unstable. Reason: poor interfacial attachment caused seed layer cracking and delamination during secondary growth
Framework-based nanofiltration membranes for liquid separation · Imperial
Tried and failed
high deposition rate physical vapor deposition applied to multicomponent alloy thin film synthesis. Outcome: unstable. Reason: excessive deposition rate caused film detachment and compositional divergence
Investigation on the performance of nanofluids due to preparation effects and operational conditions. · Cranfield
Tried and failed
solution blade coating of thick precursor films applied to flexible conductive polymer substrates. Outcome: unstable. Reason: acidic precursor solution degraded substrate conductive layer and caused mechanical delamination above critical thickness
Metal oxide nanocrystals for visible and near-infrared selective electrochromic devices · UT Austin
Tried and failed
spray-coating 2D transition metal carbides on polymers applied to submerged chronic neural interface electrodes. Outcome: unstable. Reason: rapid degradation and delamination within days due to aqueous moisture intercalation at physiological conditions
Lost to a baseline
Uncrosslinked ptBAEMA produced rougher, discontinuous coatings with poorer adhesion and water resistance than pDEAEMA.
CO2-SWITCHABLE MATERIALS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS FOR AQUEOUS BASED PROTECTIVE COATINGS · Queens University Institutional Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected pure PDMS coatings on the limiting element due to recurring layer detachment causing physical damage transferred directly to printed surfaces.
Hybrid aerosol jet-stereolithography process for fabrication of index-variable optics · Leibniz Universität Hannover Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected PCD tool coatings in favor of solid PCD blanks due to periodic delamination/peeling off of diamond particles during ceramic machining.
Fundamental Investigation on the Micro-milling Process for Machining of Difficult-to-machine Materials · Research Repository UCD
Pinholes and porous defects cause electrical short circuits and compromised barrier protection
Deposited films that are excessively thin or poorly wetting develop pinholes, voids, and large open pores across the substrate. These discontinuities permit substantial electrical leakage, internal short circuits, or chemical attack of underlying layers.
Tried and failed
physical vapor deposition on porous metal substrates applied to solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: thin film deposition over porous substrate resulted in pinholes causing internal electrical short circuits
Development of microtubular solid oxide fuel cells design, fabrication and performance. · Cranfield
Tried and failed
ultrathin atomic layer deposition dielectric coating applied to planar thin-film capacitors. Reason: dielectric layer was too thin, causing pinholes and electrical short-circuiting
Tried and failed
dielectric passivation using chemical vapor and atomic deposition applied to semiconductor PIN diodes. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: dielectric passivation layers caused excessive forward leakage current before diode turn-on
Development, Fabrication and Characterization of III-Nitride Bipolar Devices: Rectifiers, Avalanche Photodiodes, and Laser Diodes · Georgia Tech
Tried and failed
High-temperature annealing of evaporated dielectric oxide films applied to protective dielectric layer on graphene. Outcome: unstable. Reason: Excessive temperature caused pinhole formation exposing the substrate and causing dielectric gate leakage
The Edge States of Epitaxial Graphene on SiC · Georgia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Plasma-sprayed deposition was rejected in favor of gel-binder doctor blade application because thin coatings became oversaturated with substrate elements and could not eliminate voids.
MICROSTRUCTURAL EVOLUTION AND REACTION MECHANISMS IN MULTI-PHASE METAL SYSTEMS · JScholarship
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected dip-coating nylon microgrids in a 1:2 PDMS:toluene dilution because thin-film shrinkage during curing caused defect pinholes exposing the nylon substrate.
Cement-based materials with hydrophobic micro-textured surface · Imperial
Tried and failed
thin metal protective coating during thermal oxidation applied to graphene electrode passivation. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: insufficient oxidation barrier caused severe resistance degradation from graphene etching or defect formation
Tried and failed
spin-coating aqueous dispersion without substrate plasma treatment applied to conductive nanomaterial thin film deposition. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: poor substrate wetting causes non-uniform, incomplete film coverage, degrading capacitance and impedance properties
Engineering Novel High-Resolution Bioelectronic Interfaces From Mxene Nanomaterials · Penn
Lost to a baseline
Spray-coating GO catalyst deposition yielded poorer run-to-run replicability and passed more co-ion leakage current (lower permselectivity) compared to highly oriented Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and solution adsorption (SA) deposition methods.
Interfacial Chemistry in Bipolar Membrane-Containing Redox Flow Battery Systems · Penn
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected pure graphene coatings via CVD due to unavoidable imperfections causing microgalvanic corrosion and detachment from corrosion products.
Use of complementary testing technology for the evaluation of the characteristics of different systems · DSpace-CRIS at TU Wien
Tried and failed
ultrathin polymer coating via chemical vapor deposition applied to nanoporous aluminum oxide in alkaline conditions. Outcome: unstable. Reason: strong alkaline solution degraded and dissolved the underlying porous metal oxide despite the thin polymer coating
Lost to a baseline
Dip-coated EBC corrosion rate (2.04 µm min^-1) was higher (worse) than APS coatings (1.67 µm min^-1) due to higher open porosity and larger pore sizes.
Tried and failed
reducing selective layer thickness via spin coating applied to thin-film composite separation membranes. Reason: ultra-thin selective layers suffered topcoat defects that compromised selectivity despite higher permeance
Designing Organic Solvent Reverse Osmosis Membranes for The Separation of Liquid Hydrocarbons · Georgia Tech
Thermal stress and mechanical strain cause film cracking and crazing
Coatings develop microcracks, flaking, and crazing when exposed to thermal annealing, high-temperature baking, or tensile deformation. Such structural fractures degrade optical clarity, permit unwanted dye absorption, or lead to catastrophic electrical interconnect failure.
Tried and failed
electroplating conductive coatings on flexible polymer substrates applied to flexible additively manufactured electrical interconnects. Reason: mechanical deflection fractured the thin electroplated layer, causing conductivity loss and catastrophic Joule heating failure
Multi-axis and multi-material additive manufacturing of electrical traces · Imperial
Tried and failed
PECVD oxide coating applied to reflowed photoresist structures. Outcome: unstable. Reason: produced non-uniform shell thickness, surface roughness bumps, and cracked upon thermal heating
Sub-Micron Self-Aligned Chiplet-Based Optical Fiber-to-Chip Interconnects for 2.5D Heterogeneous Integration · Georgia Tech
Tried and failed
atomic layer deposition of protective oxide coating applied to precursors subject to volume-expanding reactions. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: volume expansion during chemical conversion cracked the coating, preventing defect-free passivation
IMPROVING ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFROMANCE OF IRON TRIFLUORIDE (FeF3) IN SODIUM-ION BATTERIES · Georgia Tech
Tried and failed
single dip-coating of porous template applied to porous elastomeric conductive nanocomposites. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: produced non-uniform, thin structural ligaments prone to mechanical fracture under tensile strain
Hybrid Response Pressure Sensors as an Electronic Skin for Bio- Sensing and Soft Robotics · UT Austin
Tried and failed
spin-coating and physical vapor deposition for planarisation applied to high-aspect-ratio nanotrenches. Outcome: unstable. Reason: thermal stress-induced cracking during baking, and incomplete filling caused by premature overhang closure
MEMS-based Tunable Metasurface for Reflective Display Applications · EPFL
Tried and failed
Sol-gel coating on PDMS surfaces applied to preventing hydrophobic dye absorption and evaporation. Reason: Microcracks in the coating allowed dye absorption and caused droplet evaporation over 24 hours
Screening of algal cells using microdroplet technology · Cambridge
Lost to a baseline
Under accelerated impressed-voltage corrosion, crystalline coating WP2 ranked #1 with lowest crack width (0.23 mm) and lowest mass loss (37.6 g/y), beating WP3 (0.48 mm, 45.4 g/y).
Durability and Corrosion Performance of Waterproofing Systems and Plant-Resin-Modified Concrete · Queens University Institutional Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected palladium coating on membrane surfaces to prevent surface effects, because coatings crack during plastic deformation in mechanical testing and create localized film failures/dissolution.
The relative susceptibility of ferrous alloys to hydrogen embrittlement determined by effective electrolytic hydrogen pressure measurement · Virginia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected thick PVD coatings (1000 nm) in favor of thin (50-100 nm) films to avoid grain crystallization, cracking, and delamination.
Tried and failed
high-temperature post-deposition annealing applied to mixed metal-oxide optical thin-film coatings. Outcome: unstable. Reason: developed severe cracking and flaking at elevated temperatures due to thermal stress or crystallization
Tried and failed
thermal baking of dielectric coated vacuum viewports applied to ultra-high vacuum optical viewports. Reason: High-temperature baking caused thermal stress that crazed the dielectric HR coating, ruining optical performance.
Quantum Gas Microscopy of Bosonic Correlations in the Continuum · MIT
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected single-step spin-coating for thicker films because it induced film cracking
High temperatures cause precursor decomposition, film evaporation, and volatile loss
Elevated processing temperatures induce parasitic precursor decomposition, dopant loss, and severe re-evaporation of volatile film constituents. These thermal effects lead to carbon contamination, loss of crystallinity, and compositional shifts under vacuum or annealing conditions.
Tried and failed
chemical vapor deposition without reducing co-reactant applied to silver thin film deposition. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: parasitic thermal precursor decomposition caused massive carbon contamination and loss of electrical conductivity
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected LPCVD of graphene on 700 nm Cu(111)/sapphire due to severe Cu evaporation and high batch-to-batch variability, adopting APCVD instead.
Synthesis and Applications of Large-Area Monolayer Graphene · MIT
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for granulate coating in favor of PVD magnetron sputtering due to high thermal stress and material restrictions.
Optische Schichtdickenbestimmung auf granularen Materialien Measurement of film thickness on transparent granular materials by optical methods · DSpace-CRIS at TU Wien
Tried and failed
direct high voltage bias to coated probe tips applied to scanning probe lithography. Outcome: unstable. Reason: sudden high bias evaporated the metal coating and redeposited material onto the surface
The modification of graphene band structure by periodic potential perturbation · Cambridge
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected thermal evaporation deposition in favor of electrospray deposition due to dye fragility, non-volatility, and thermal lability
Molecular adsorption and charge transfer dynamics at Dye−TiO 2 interfaces: an XPS, NEXAFS, and XSW study · University of Nottingham Repository
Tried and failed
thermal diffusion doping applied to semiconductor photocatalyst preparation. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: induced complete rutile phase transformation and dopant evaporation during high-temperature processing
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected experiments at 90 °C due to excessive solution evaporation loss
Biological and Chemical Oxidation of Sulfidic Minerals at Alkaline pH · Queens University Institutional Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Discontinued further development of Cu2SnS3 (CTS) spray-pyrolysis absorber solar cells due to layer evaporation during post-deposition annealing and insufficient film thickness (200-400 nm).
Estudio y desarrollo de películas de Cu2ZnSnS4 obtenidas por sputtering para su posible aplicación en dispositivos fotovoltaicos · Repositorio Institucional BUAP
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected thermal evaporation for Sb2S3 film growth because it causes volatility-driven composition shifts, poor crystallinity, and high defect-related loss.
ADAPTIVE PHASE-CHANGE META-OPTICS: FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION FOR EMISSIVE CONTRAST AND SPECTRAL FILTERING · JScholarship
Tried and failed
direct high-temperature physical vapor deposition without annealing applied to intermetallic thin films with volatile components. Reason: growth temperature above constituent melting point caused discontinuous morphology while attempting to maintain crystallinity
Engineering topology and correlation in epitaxial thin film kagome metals · MIT
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected pure pyrene coatings via vacuum evaporation due to pyrene's high vapour pressure causing coating degradation in vacuum, opting instead for pyrene-doped polystyrene.
Neck Alpha Background Rejection in DEAP-3600 using Pyrene and the Search for Superheavy Dark Matter · Carleton University Institutional Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Slurry dip-coating, APS, CVD, EB-PVD, and solid-state synthesis rejected because high-temperature processing destroys the initial amorphous state required for wide-range sensing
Development of high temperature Thermal History Paints for reliable off-line measurements · Imperial
Poor solution rheology and fluid pooling result in non-uniform liquid coatings
Low precursor solution viscosity, poor wetting, and inadequate solid loading produce phase separation and puddle formation on surfaces. Consequently, liquid methods such as dip coating or doctor blading suffer from uneven thicknesses, particle shedding, and substrate permeation.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Doctor blading and dip coating were rejected due to phase separation and fluid pooling on substrate caused by low solution viscosity and low solid loadings
Mechanical Properties of Polymer-Clay Nanocomposite Thin Films · TXST Digital Repository
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected doctor-blade slurry coating on carbon paper because pre-punching caused severe edge fracturing and binder/carbon fully permeated the porous substrate rather than forming a discrete top film.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected pure Cu2O particle coatings without polymer binder because particles shed easily
Development and Mechanism of Action of Antimicrobial Coatings · Virginia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and electrochemical deposition methods for applying GO coatings due to prohibitive cost and less uniform distribution compared to APTES-DA chemical assembly.
Antimicrobial Properties of Graphite and Coal-Derived Graphene Oxides as an Advanced Coating for Titanium Implants · Virginia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected physical vapor deposition and colloidal drop-casting for ultra-thin nanoantenna fabrication due to dewetting, grain boundary defects, and agglomeration/wrinkling.
Plasmonic Nanostructures for Photocatalysis: Material, Photonic and Electronic Effects · EPFL
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected immersion-based physical coating due to poor reproducibility and uncontrolled deposition.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected thin-film coating methods (such as dip-coating or slot-die coating) in favor of stereolithography (SLA) due to tight thickness tolerances and lower tolerance to fabrication variations.
Organic Molecules with Delayed Fluorescence Applied to Human-centric Lighting and Radiation Detectors · Georgia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected drop-casting and plasma pretreatment for pyrolytic graphite coating scale-up, replacing them with spray-coating and liquid oxidizing soak activation.
Fabrication, Characterization, and Industrial Viability of Sustainable Thin Films and Coatings Derived from Aluminum Based Nanoclusters · Scholars' Bank
Lost to a baseline
Manual dip coating followed by conventional furnace sintering yielded coatings limited to <=30 μm thickness with an unwanted porous excess Yb2O3 layer and required 50 h at 1400°C.
Suitability of single layer yb2sio5 environmental barrier coating for gas turbine applications · Imperial
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected using bare dip-coating for small tapered fiber tips due to viscosity issues; adopted punch-through mesh coating instead.
Optoacoustic cell modulation at micron-scale precision · OpenBU
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: rejected dip coating for stent multilayer coatings because it is time-consuming and prone to defects such as winding, blocking, and non-uniformity
Sustainable manufacturing of bioresorbable polymer coatings with controlled antifouling and antibacterial properties · Research Repository UCD
Substrate chemical incompatibility and precursor etching damage underlying layers
Aggressive chemical precursors, excess reactive gases, or contact liquids etch and degrade sensitive base materials during deposition. In other instances, interdiffusion barriers or chemical side reactions form unwanted interfacial phases and disrupt layer integrity.
Tried and failed
pre-oxidation and chemical vapor deposition applied to low-purity copper foil substrate. Outcome: no signal. Reason: bulk diffusion difficulty in the lower purity metal substrate prevented multilayer growth
Graphene-metal interactions beyond Van der Waals forces · MIT
Tried and failed
direct chemical vapor deposition of ultrathin metal films applied to sub-10 nm copper film growth. Outcome: unstable. Reason: severe agglomeration leading to discontinuous morphology and high surface roughness
Tried and failed
chemical vapor deposition with high hydrogen ratio applied to direct graphene growth on sapphire. Reason: excess hydrogen rapidly etched the film rather than allowing continuous layer formation
Tried and failed
chemical vapor deposition without electric field bias applied to nanotube growth on carbon fibers. Reason: insufficient potential difference allowed catalyst etching of the substrate leading to pitting and sporadic growth
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected depositing Al directly on graphene/Cu before delamination because Al oxidized and etched away before graphene delaminated, switching to transferring graphene first before Al evaporation.
Synthesis and Applications of Large-Area Monolayer Graphene · MIT
Tried and failed
spot welding thin metal foil to sputtered thin-film applied to electrical contacts on metallised substrates. Reason: welding process cleaved through the thin sputtered coating causing mechanical and electrical failure
Conceptualization, Thermodynamics, Kinetics, and Prototyping of Continuous Electrochemical Refrigeration · Georgia Tech
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected thermal evaporation of nickel on PMMA due to insoluble polymer-metal composite residue formation during release, switching to sputter deposition.
Investigations into Quasi-Two-Dimensional Active Matter Systems using Colloidal Probes · JScholarship
Tried and failed
pulsed chemical vapor deposition of metal contacts applied to hybrid perovskite thin-film solar cells. Outcome: unstable. Reason: Metal precursor directly degraded the underlying perovskite layer, forming lead iodide.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected purely solution-processed spin-coating for the rubrene:DBP layer on perovskite, replacing it with thermal evaporation to prevent perturbation of the perovskite surface.
Strategies for High-Performance Solid-State Photon Upconversion · MIT
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected standard liquid-phase dye dipping for nonwoven imaging because liquid disrupts and leaches non-permanent topical surfactant coatings, switching to vapour-phase sublimation staining.
Surfactant migration on polymeric substrates · Imperial
Coated surfaces suffer rapid tribological wear and micro-chipping under friction
Composite and thick protective coatings frequently display inferior scratch resistance, lower hardness, and higher wear rates than uncoated or baseline materials. Under sliding or machining stresses, these layers exhibit stick-slip friction, complete wear-through, and tool edge chipping.
Lost to a baseline
Al-7075 control baseline had lowest specific wear rate (5.1757 x 10–12 m3/Nm) and lowest wear depth (6.29 µm), outperforming all reinforced composite coatings.
CORROSION AND WEAR RESISTANCE OF DUAL-REINFORCED AL-7075 COLD SPRAYED COATINGS · Calhoun
Lost to a baseline
LASQ-FP/6.0 wear resistance was superior to LASQ-PDMS coatings during steel wool abrasion and ink contraction (300 vs 60 strokes).
Hard and Wear-resistant Omniphobic Ladderlike Polysilsesquioxane Coatings for Anti-smudge and Ice-Shedding Applications · Queens University Institutional Repository
Lost to a baseline
Atmospheric plasma jet coating on upside-down mixed EUSD failed under tribological stress after ~70 cycles, degrading into stick-slip with high friction compared to commercial sliding varnish.
Einfluss der Wechselwirkungen auf die Substratanbindung von Atmosphärendruck-Plasmaschichten · Leibniz Universität Hannover Repository
Lost to a baseline
Annealed pure EN coating exhibited higher hardness (11.70 GPa vs 8.60 GPa monolayered and 5.74 GPa multilayered) and higher scratch hardness (17 GPa vs 3.9 GPa and 5.2 GPa).
Lost to a baseline
Pure unreinforced Al outperformed all reinforced composite coatings in dry-sliding wear resistance (0.0006 g mass loss vs 0.0016–0.0024 g).
Lost to a baseline
Plating an EN-P-PTFE composite coating on an annealed EN-Co-P alloy layer ([ENCO]PTFE) compromised coating hardness (3.73 GPa) and scratch hardness (2.7 GPa) compared to the fully annealed multilayered coating (5.74 GPa and 5.2 GPa).
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Single-layer cold-spray deposition was rejected because wear testing wore completely through the coating thickness; two layers were used instead.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected using thin metal coatings on steel to study alloying element effects because coatings could not survive sliding-rolling contact conditions.
Tried and failed
increasing physical vapour deposition coating thickness applied to carbide cutting tools. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: thicker coating rounded cutting edges, inducing premature micro-chipping, tool fracture, and early failure
Stack drilling of CFRPT/TI using coated and uncoated tools. · Cranfield
Left open by the authors
Problems the authors named and did not get to.
Left open
Optimize ALD coating thickness and alternative chemistries (HfO2, SiO2, ZrO2, TiO2, nitrides) on battery electrodes to improve solid electrolyte wetting. Blocker: Requires atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, specialized battery materials, and wet-lab physical testing facilities.
Low melting point solid electrolytes for scalable manufacturing of all-solid-state li-ion batteries · Georgia Tech
Left open
Optimize the thickness and chemistry of ALD alumina coatings on active material particles, or develop alternative sol-gel coating processes. Blocker: Requires chemical synthesis, atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, and experimental wet-lab battery testing facilities.
Borohydride-based solid electrolytes and polymer composite separators for lithium-ion batteries · Georgia Tech
Left open
Fabricate a thin, dense, crack-free, stoichiometric protective coating layer on proton-conducting electrolyte substrates to prevent degradation from H2O and CO2. Blocker: Requires a physical materials synthesis/deposition wet lab and solid oxide cell fabrication equipment.
Development of Proton-Conducting Electrolytes with Enhanced Performance and Stability for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells · Georgia Tech
Left open
Develop non-vacuum deposition techniques like dip or suspension coating for sub-micron bilayer electrolyte protection in solid oxide cells. Blocker: Requires a physical materials synthesis and electrochemical wet laboratory.
Enhancing the Stability and Performance of Solid Oxide Cells by Tailoring Surfaces and Interfaces through Surface Modification · Georgia Tech
Left open
Engineer treated copper substrates to enhance bulk diffusion paths and increase the area coverage of bilayer graphene growth. Blocker: Requires a physical materials lab, copper pre-treatment, and chemical vapor deposition apparatus.
Graphene-metal interactions beyond Van der Waals forces · MIT
Left open
Develop chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth for millimeter-scale uniform AB and ABC stacked graphene. Blocker: Requires a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis laboratory and materials characterization equipment.
Visible and Infrared Light Detection Using 2D Materials · MIT
Left open
Develop high-adhesion water-soluble binders for spray-coated Taylor-Couette graphene on metal substrates for thermal dissipation. Blocker: Requires chemical synthesis, wet lab formulation, and physical spray-coating adhesion testing
Left open
Control the density and spatial distribution of water-permeable defects in monolayer graphene for molecular-selective membranes. Blocker: Requires chemical vapor deposition apparatus and wet lab facilities to fabricate and characterize defective graphene membranes
Synthesis and Applications of Large-Area Monolayer Graphene · MIT
Left open
Optimize chemical vapor deposition growth parameters to synthesize multilayer graphene with controlled layer count, stacking order, and rotational alignment. Blocker: Requires chemical vapor deposition furnace and physical materials characterization equipment.
Synthesis and Applications of Large-Area Monolayer Graphene · MIT
Left open
Integrate the pore formation step directly after CVD graphene synthesis to eliminate atmospheric contamination cleaning. Blocker: Requires a physical chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor and materials synthesis laboratory
Scalable synthesis of CO2-selective porous single-layer graphene membranes · EPFL
Checking a claim in this area?
We can run the same search on any method or claim. If nothing turns up, we will say so, and that proves nothing on its own.