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Properties and Applications of New Coating Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026 | Viewed by 769

Special Issue Editors

Special Glass Key Laboratory of Hainan Province, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: materials surface engineering; surface modification; inorganic coatings; photocatalysis films; superhard coatings
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Guest Editor
Info-Powered Energy System Research Center (i-PERC), The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585, Japan
Interests: coatings; semiconductor solar cell; surface science; film growth; electronic structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Tropic Ocean Engineering Materials and Materials Evaluation, Special Glass Key Laboratory of Hainan Province, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: surface modification (CVD, PVD, et al); anti-icing and de-icing materials; photothermal materials; biomedical materials

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, China
Interests: tribology; materials surface engineering; surface modification; inorganic coatings

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced coating materials represent a significant breakthrough in materials science, driven by the need for enhanced durability, functionality, and sustainability across industries. These coatings—such as self-healing coatings, superhydrophobic surfaces, and nanocomposite films—exhibit exceptional properties, including corrosion resistance, thermal stability, anti-fouling, and tailored optical/electrical characteristics. Their development addresses limitations of traditional coatings, offering solutions for extreme environments and evolving technological demands.

Advanced coating materials have already been applied in many fields. In aerospace and automotive industries, they improve fuel efficiency and component longevity; in biomedical fields, they enable antibacterial implants and smart drug delivery systems; and in energy, they enhance solar panel efficiency and battery performance. Additionally, eco-friendly coatings reduce environmental impact by minimizing toxic solvents and enabling recyclability. The ongoing innovation in coating materials not only pushes the boundaries of performance but also supports global sustainability goals, making them critical to future technological advancements.

We are pleased to invite authors to contribute their research on the “Properties and Applications of New Coating Materials”. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • High-entropy ceramic coatings;
  • Non-oxide ceramic coatings (carbides, nitrides, borides);
  • Nanoparticle-modified and 2D nanomaterial-reinforced coatings;
  • Functional metallic/ceramic/composite PVD and CVD coatings;
  • Sol-gel and organic–inorganic hybrid coatings;
  • Bio-compatible and bio-active coatings;
  • Super-hydrophobic/super-hydrophilic and self-cleaning surfaces;
  • Smart/multi-functional and stimuli-responsive coatings;
  • Anti-icing and de-icing coatings.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Feng Wen
Dr. Jiaqi Liu
Dr. Qiaoyuan Deng
Guest Editors

Dr. Yongyao Su
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanocomposite coatings
  • self-healing coatings
  • corrosion resistance
  • thermal barrier properties
  • antimicrobial surfaces
  • superhydrophobicity
  • decorative coating

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2538 KB  
Article
Effect of Duty Cycle on Amorphous Silicon Carbon Nitride Films Deposited by Microwave Sheath–Voltage Combination Plasma
by Ippei Tanaka, Yuki Hatae and Yasunori Harada
Materials 2026, 19(4), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19040804 - 19 Feb 2026
Viewed by 421
Abstract
This study investigates the deposition of amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiCN) films using a microwave sheath–voltage combination plasma (MVP) source under duty-cycle-controlled deposition conditions. Duty ratios of 10, 30, 50, and 70% resulted in substrate temperatures of 180, 600, 980, and 1040 °C, [...] Read more.
This study investigates the deposition of amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiCN) films using a microwave sheath–voltage combination plasma (MVP) source under duty-cycle-controlled deposition conditions. Duty ratios of 10, 30, 50, and 70% resulted in substrate temperatures of 180, 600, 980, and 1040 °C, respectively. The deposition rate reached a maximum of approximately 208 μm/h at a duty ratio of 30%. The atomic ratios of C, N, and Si remained nearly constant for duty ratios from 30% to 70%. X-ray diffraction confirmed that all films were amorphous. Raman spectra revealed features characteristic of amorphous carbon (a-C) for duty ratios of 30% or higher, suggesting the incorporation of a-C-like structures into the a-SiCN matrix. The film hardness increased as the duty-cycle-controlled deposition conditions shifted from 10% to 50% (180 to 980 °C), reaching a maximum of 22.65 ± 6.78 GPa at a duty ratio of 50%, and then decreased at 70% (1040 °C). These variations in hardness are suggested to be associated with coupled changes in hydrogen incorporation, C–N bonding, and the evolution of sp2-rich carbon clustering (graphite-like short-range ordering) under elevated temperature and ion-bombardment conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Applications of New Coating Materials)
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