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EDITORIAL article
Front. Coat. Dyes Interface Eng.
Sec. Hard Films and Coatings
Volume 3 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frcdi.2025.1568436
This article is part of the Research Topic Frontiers in Coatings, Dyes and Interface Engineering: Inaugural Collection View all 10 articles
Editorial for the Frontiers in Coatings, Dyes and Interface Engineering: Inaugural collection
Provisionally accepted- 1 University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- 2 University of Surrey, Guildford, South East England, United Kingdom
- 3 Loyola Andalusia University, Seville, Andalusia, Spain
- 4 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
This is a very exciting collection of the first papers published in CDIE that look at functional surfaces and interfaces. This collection is written by leading researchers and detail innovative investigations. These papers and reviews will start to define this new journal and we hope readers are encouraged to submit research papers to CDIE. The journal focuses and serves researchers interested in coatings, dyes and interface engineering and we are pleased these areas are covered by this inaugural collection of 9 papers, The papers look at coatings for the applications of micro-batteries, surgical screws, high temperature, tribology in electric vehicles (EVs) applications and wear resistant nickel matrix coatings.For example, a mini-review (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-andinterface-engineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1401391/full) looks at Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) for the design and development of micro-batteries while a full review paper offers a succinct synthesis of recent advancements in High Entropy Oxides research, (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1417527/full) spanning from processing techniques to mechanical behaviours under extreme conditions. FTIR analysis has identified the structural reasons for failures of surgical screws, caused by the selective removal of nonapatitic environments during adsorption onto the metallic implant, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2025.1539792/full. This work underpins efforts to prevent additional patient interventions and the associated costs.Another review article focuses on electric vehicles (EVs), https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1426164/full which are the future of transport, but to really take off, they have some tough technical challenges to overcome, especially when it comes to their moving parts like gears and bearings. Unlike traditional gasoline-powered cars, EVs work differently and are much heavier. They deliver a large amount of torque right from the start and hit peak efficiency at high speeds. That is excellent for performance purposes, but it also puts a large amount of stress on mechanical components, leading to wear, fatigue, and scuffing. Here is where advanced hard coatings come into play. Clearly, new advanced hard coatings can handle the unique demands of EVs. Hard coatings could be designed to resist heat, wear, and friction, making parts last longer and work better under heavy loads and low-speed conditions and they could become game changers.One research article contribution details how the addition of Cr2C3 hard particles into Ni brush plated metal-matrix composite coatings increases wear resistance by 60% compared to Ni-only coatings, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2023.1278575/full. The presented work could potentially lead to alternatives to hard chrome, which is environmentally unfriendly and unsafeThe collection also includes papers on important interface phenomena. Work on the dry sliding of zirconia dioxide couples shows that self-mated dry sliding is not advised unless low loads are applied https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1379005/full. PDMS is a material used in MEMS and other small-scale devices and developing an understanding of its elasticity, adhesion, and friction behaviour is very important, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-andinterface-engineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1428841/full. An atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based method to quantify elastic and tribological properties in single asperity contacts (quasi-static and sliding) under dry conditions has demonstrated that the friction and adhesion behaviour of PDMS are inter-related and are affected by the elastic deformation of PDMS junctions. A detailed FTIR study of the adhesion failure between hydroxyapatite coatings has concluded that failure is caused by the selective removal of non-apatite environments at the metal implant-hydroxyapatite interface. The method presented also provides important information on the apatite bonding at the interface, indicating the expected adhesion strength, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2025.1539792/full . Among the various strategies available for the encapsulation of active ingredients in the pharmaceutical industry, Pickering emulsions stand out as efficient alternatives. Roques-Carmes and colleagues https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2024.1422260/full investigated the encapsulation of ibuprofen using Pickering emulsions stabilized by silica particles. Their study demonstrated remarkably high encapsulation rates, reaching up to 99% for ibuprofen concentrations ranging from 1.6 mg/mL to 6 mg/mL of paraffin. Moreover, the encapsulation efficiency was shown to remain stable over a 90-day aging period and even after dilution. The findings also highlight the potential for developing reverse emulsions, which could enable the encapsulation of polar active ingredients, such as insulin.In dye-sensitized solar cells, the processes of dye regeneration and back electron transfer (recombination) play critical roles in determining overall efficiency. Cerda and Avila https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/coatings-dyes-and-interfaceengineering/articles/10.3389/frcdi.2025.1527060/full conducted a comparative study on iodine-based electrolytes using electrochemical measurements and benchmarked their performance against commercial electrolytes. Their research provided valuable insights into the thermodynamics of competitive electron transfer processes in solar cells sensitized by natural dyes, contributing to a deeper understanding of these systems' functionality and optimization potential.RJK Wood (Chief Field Editor, CDIE), KR Justin Thomas (Speciality Chief Editor, CDIE), Jose L Endrino (Speciality Chief Editor, CDIE) and Mark A Baker (Speciality Chief Editor, CDIE).Frontiers | Frontiers in Coatings, Dyes and Interface Engineering: Inaugural Collection
Keywords: coatings, dyes, interface engineering, Hard Film and Coatings, Dyes and pigments, Engineered Surfaces and interfaces, Soft coating
Received: 29 Jan 2025; Accepted: 18 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wood, Baker, Endrino and Justin Thomas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Robert Wood, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.