Infiltration of Metal Substrates with Nanostructured CeO2 by a Room-Temperature Wet Process

A room-temperature infiltration procedure for the deposition of CeO2 nanopowders on Ni-based foams employing stable CeO2 suspensions in water has been developed. It consists of a two-steps dipping process, the first in nanopowder suspension at pH 6.5 followed by further dipping into a NH3OH solution at pH 12. The pH shift represents a key factor to improve the homogeneity and dispersion of infiltrated powder by avoiding coalescence during the drying step. Water-based suspensions have been prepared starting from a commercial nanostructured CeO2. Powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction, particle size and specific surface area measurements, transmission electron microscopy. Stability of suspensions was studied by zeta potential measurements at low concentration, while sedimentation tests were carried out on highly concentrated suspensions as a function of pH, CeO2 amount and surfactant presence. Effect of CeO2 concentration, surfactant addition, pH value, substrate composition and microstructure were taken in account. Under best conditions, very homogeneous infiltrations could be obtained without any preferential orientation or agglomerates. Thermal stability of the composites infiltrated materials was also tested. The technique seems to be very promising in advanced nanostructured decorations and coating preparation.