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Aerosol Deposition for Manufacturing and Developing Next Generation Dielectric Charge Storage Devices

Lead Research Organisation: University of Manchester
Department Name: Materials

Abstract

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Publications

10 25 50

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Peirson H (2023) Structure and dielectric properties of yttrium-doped Ca0.28Ba0.72Nb2O6 ceramics in Journal of Alloys and Compounds

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Haronin V (2024) Broadband dielectric spectroscopy of Nb-doped 0.7BiFeO 3 -0.3BaTiO 3 ceramics in Journal of Physics Communications

 
Description New methods have been developed to deposit functional and protective ceramic coatings on metal and polymer substrates, at room temperature, using the particulate aerosol deposition process. Modifications were made to the ceramic powder processing procedures and the deposition system to improve the properties of the coatings and reproducibility of the aerosol generation unit. This unique deposition facility, which has been developed within the Henry Royce Institute in Manchester, provides new opportunities to combine conventionally incompatible materials in novel types of composite coatings as a result of its ability to produce dense, cohesive and adherent ceramic coatings at room temperature. In one example, a thin dielectric ceramic coating has been applied on a polymer sheet for high voltage electrical insulation, leading to a 60-fold increase in lifetime under an accelerated partial discharge test procedure.
New research collaborations have been initiated to conduct further work on novel types of ceramic coatings for dielectric capacitors, electrically insulating ceramic coatings for electric drive systems in automotive and aerospace applications, protective ceramic coatings to improve corrosion, wear and oxidation resistance of metallic alloys, and modelling and simulation of the particulate aerosol deposition process.
Exploitation Route The developing facility for low-temperature manufacture of ceramic films by particulate aerosol deposition in the Henry Royce Institute at Manchester will support a wide range of research activities on functional and protective coatings. Our initial work on ceramic dielectrics for capacitors has already been expanded to include electrical insulators for metallic conductors, protective coatings for light alloys, and bioactive coatings for implants. There is clear potential to extend the range of applications further to include topics such as hydrogen barrier coatings, ceramic electrolytes for fuel cells and solid state batteries, flexible electronics, abrasion resistant coatings for engineering polymers and other types of composite or multilayer devices incorporating traditionally incompatible materials. Exploitation of the results of this work will be accelerated through collaboration with other research institutes and industries across the UK, supported by the Henry Royce Institute.
Sectors Aerospace

Defence and Marine

Electronics

Energy

Manufacturing

including Industrial Biotechology

Transport

 
Description During this project, we developed a novel combination of ceramic powder processing, involving the high energy ball milling of solid powders followed by granulation by spray-drying, to facilitate the aerosol deposition of high density ceramic coatings at room temperature. It was demonstrated that such dielectric coatings can be used to protect polymeric electrical insulators against erosion by the 'partial discharge' mechanism, resulting in a 60-fold increase in the time to failure during an accelerated lifetime test. These results formed the basis for a collaborative R&D project with aerospaceHV (aHV) through the University of Manchester Impact Acceleration Account Proof of Concept Scheme. We are currently exploring the application of such coatings in high voltage systems for transport and power transmission, and are engaging with various industrial partners ranging from materials and wire manufacturers to end users in the aerospace and automotive sectors.
First Year Of Impact 2025
Sector Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Electronics,Energy,Transport
Impact Types Economic

 
Description Aerosol deposition of ceramic coatings for high performance machine insulation
Amount £74,934 (GBP)
Funding ID R/155683 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2024 
End 09/2025
 
Description Feasibility Study on Taking control of the aerosol deposition process for ceramic coatings
Amount £20,000 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2021 
End 06/2022
 
Description High-Performance Smart Ceramic Coatings on Light Alloys
Amount £270,762 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/V026097/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2021 
End 10/2023
 
Description New direction in high temperature dielectrics: unlocking performance of doped tungsten bronze oxides through mechanistic understanding
Amount £231,812 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/V053183/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2022 
End 09/2025
 
Description Research Fellowship (Dr Beatriz Mingo), Next generation of ceramic coatings for active protection of light alloys
Amount £500,000 (GBP)
Organisation Royal Academy of Engineering 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2021 
End 10/2026
 
Description UKRI Impact Acceleration Account Proof of Concept Scheme, Ceramic coatings for power dense high voltage systems in electric transport
Amount £70,636 (GBP)
Funding ID IAA 442 
Organisation University of Manchester 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2024 
End 06/2025
 
Description Invited feature article in Diamond Research Highlights, Pushing Boundaries in Piezoceramics: The Impact of Strontium Acceptor Dopants 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact Dr Yizhe Li and Dr David Hall engaged with Emma Doughty, a Science Writer a Diamond Light Source, to prepare a Science Highlights article for inclusion on the Diamond website. The aim of the article is to highlight some of the results of our experiment conducted on beamline I-15 in 2023, "The origin of ultrahigh electrostrain in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based piezoelectric ceramics" (experiment no. cy311608).
The article is focused mostly on the results described in a scientific publication, "Acceptor doping and actuation mechanisms in Sr-doped BiFeO3-BaTiO3 ceramics", published in the Journal of Materiomics in 2024 (DOI:10.1016/j.jmat.2023.04.007), although it also provides insight into the potential usage of such materials as a new type of lead-free piezoelectric component in ultrasonic transducers for condition monitoring in demanding environments.
The Research Highlights article has helped to raise the profile of our research activities and contributed to increased citations of this recent publication.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Science/Research/Highlights/2024/Pushing-Boundaries-in-Piezoceramics--The-...