Zhenhua Liu, a second-year master's student in the group, published a paper as the first author in a journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Region II under the supervision of Mr Lu Hailin. This thesis is on the synergistic effect of ultrasound-assisted and ZrO2 nanoparticle sealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium alloy micro-arc oxidation coatings. The combination of ultrasound-assisted technology and nanoparticle sealing technology aims to overcome the inadequacy of a single technology through the synergistic effect of the two. The synergistic effect effectively compensates for the shortcomings of traditional MAO coatings in terms of porosity and densification, and significantly optimises the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings, especially in terms of the enhancement of wear resistance and corrosion resistance. This synergistic treatment provides a new idea for the optimisation of surface properties of aluminium alloys and has important application prospects.

Zhenhua Liu a, Shuangshuang Zhi a, c, *, Shubo Li b, Zhiqiang Zhu a, Ke Dai a and Hailin Lu a, *.Synergistic effect of ultrasound-assisted and ZrO2 nanoparticle sealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum alloy micro-arc oxidation coating [J]. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.181338 (Impact Factor : 5.8, CAS Region II).

Fig. 1 Flow chart of coating process