Speaker
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Prof O.M. Ndwandwe (Muzi.Ndwandwe@gmail.com)
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD)?
MSc
Apply to be<br> consider for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
yes
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
Yes
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)
The formation of intermetallic phases and coating surface morphology of Pt thin films deposited on thick Al substrates has been studied. Coatings were prepared under high vacuum using an electron beam evaporation system. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Particle Induced X-ray emission (PIXE) were used to study the surface morphology of the coatings while the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used to study phase formation in the Al-Pt system after annealing at elevated temperatures in an unprotected atmosphere. The scanning electron microscope studies revealed that the morphology of thin platinum coatings is affected by annealing parameters such as temperature and time. Coating wrinkling/rumpling and increased surface roughness were the main features observed in the annealed coated systems considered in this study. The investigation of phase formation by XRD and RBS revealed the formation of the following intermetallic phases: Al2Pt, Al6Pt, Al21Pt8, and Al21Pt6 when annealed at different temperatures and times. The change in coating morphology has been attributed to the formation of the platinum/aluminium intermetallic phases.
