Nanotechnology and smart-coating technologies have been reported to show great promise for improved performance in critical areas such as corrosion resistance, durability, and conductivity. This article exemplifies nanofilms and nanomaterials used in coatings applications, including carbon nanotubes, silica, metals/metal oxides, ceramics, clays, buckyballs, graphene, polymers, titanium dioxide, and waxes. These can be produced by a variety of methods, including chemical vapor deposition, plasma arcing, electrodeposition, sol-gel synthesis, and ball milling. The application of nanotechnology and the development of smart coatings have been dependent largely on the availability of analytical and imaging techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy.

This article is an overview of the division Surface Analysis of this volume. The division covers various developed surface-analysis techniques, such as scanning probe and atomic force microscopy. The division focuses on the analysis of surface layers that are less than 100 nm. A quick reference summary of surface-analysis methods is presented in this article.

This article introduces various techniques commonly used in the characterization of semiconductors, namely single-crystal, polycrystalline, amorphous, oxide, organic, and low-dimensional semiconductors and semiconductor devices. The discussion covers material classification, fabrication methods, sample preparation, bulk/elemental characterization methods, microstructural characterization methods, surface characterization methods, and electronic characterization methods.

This article discusses electrospinning as a method for obtaining nanofibers, some of the challenges and limitations of the technique, advancements in the field, and how it may be used in key functional applications. The key drawbacks of traditional electrospinning processes include relatively slow speed of nanofiber production, low product yield, and relatively high cost. The article also addresses novel high-throughput techniques and methods designed for the scalable synthesis of nanofibers and nanofibrous mats that are of reasonable cost.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been adopted as one of the most versatile and rapid design-to-manufacturing approaches for printing a wide range of two- and three-dimensional parts, devices, and complex geometries layer by layer. This article provides insights into the current progress, challenges, and future needs of AM of electronics from the space, defense, biomedical, energy, and industry perspectives.

This article briefly discusses popular techniques for metals characterization. It begins with a description of the most common techniques for determining chemical composition of metals, namely X-ray fluorescence, optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, high-temperature combustion, and inert gas fusion. This is followed by a section on techniques for determining the atomic structure of crystals, namely X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and electron diffraction. Types of electron microscopies most commonly used for microstructural analysis of metals, such as scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and transmission electron microscopy, are then reviewed. The article contains tables listing analytical methods used for characterization of metals and alloys and surface analysis techniques. It ends by discussing the objective of metallography.

This article introduces various analytical techniques commonly used in the characterization of organic solids and liquids and discusses the challenges in performing the analysis, with examples. Some general advice in approaching a material analysis is also provided.

This article presents tools, techniques, and procedures that engineers and material scientists can use to investigate plastic part failures. It also provides a brief survey of polymer systems and the key properties that need to be measured during failure analysis. It describes the characterization of plastics by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The article also discusses the use of X-ray diffraction for analyzing crystal phases and structures in solid materials.

This article provides a brief introduction to lubrication as a method to reduce friction between two surfaces. It discusses the surface characteristics of parts and explores how lubrication helps separate two contacting surfaces and thereby decreases the coefficient of friction. The article details the classifications of lubrication regimes, namely, boundary, mixed, hydrodynamic, and elastohydrodynamic lubrications. It discusses the various types of lubricant materials and additives, including liquid lubricants, solid lubricants, gaseous lubricants, greases, green lubricants, and nanomaterials. The article also reviews the properties of lubricants. It describes the tribological evaluation of lubricants, including stribeck test, four-ball test, block-on-ring test, pin-in-vee test, and reciprocating motion test.

Materials resulting from thermal spray processes are often different from their wrought, forged, and cast counterparts. Assessing the usefulness of thermal spray coatings requires understanding, developing, and using appropriate testing and characterization methods that are generally borrowed from other materials science disciplines. This article focuses on commonly used testing and characterization methods: metallography, image analysis, hardness, tensile adhesion testing, corrosion testing, x-ray diffraction, non-destructive testing, and powder characterization. It provides information on how the materials themselves respond to the various test methods. The article focuses on the test methods themselves, including those test parameters that can be varied and the influence of each on the results obtained.

The biocompatibility of a material relates to its immunological response, toxicity profile, and ability to integrate with surrounding tissue without undesirable local or systemic effects on a patient. This article underscores the transformation of the medical device design ecosystem engaged as an integral part of the device ecosystem. It discusses the applications of biomaterials, including orthopedic, cardiovascular, ophthalmic, and dental applications. The article describes four major categories of biomaterials such as metals, polymers, glass and ceramics, and composites. A discussion on natural materials, nanomaterials, and stem cells is also provided. The article concludes with examples of biomaterials applications, such as endovascular devices, knee implants, and neurostimulation.

This article presents an overview of the science and engineering of materials along with suitable definitions, descriptions, and examples for better understanding for corrosionists with limited field knowledge. It begins with a detailed description of various categories of engineering materials and moves into the discussion of physical properties of materials, such as the phases, strength, conductivity, and wear. The article describes the methods used in the fabrication of engineering materials and summarizes the materials and their properties in a tabular form. The article concludes with information on material design, materials applications, and materials failure analysis.

An ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) is a support designed to regulate the ankle's position and mobility, compensate for weakness, or rectify abnormalities. This article focuses on the biomechanical affects and mechanical properties of custom-made 3D-printed AFOs and compares them to traditionally created AFOs. Investigations in the fields of 3D scanning, 3D printing, and computer-aided design and analysis for the production of custom-made AFOs are also covered.

The field of bioprinting is a subset of additive manufacturing (AM) that is rapidly expanding to meet the needs of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Bioprinting encompasses a broad spectrum of issues, from cell expansion and novel bioink development to cell/stem cell printing, from organoid-based tissue organization to bioprinting of human-scale tissue structures, and from building cell/tissue/organ-on-a-chip to biomanufacturing of multicellular engineered living systems. This article focuses on two challenges regarding bioprinting: bioinks and crosslinking. It describes the methods for characterizing the performance of bioink formulations and the effectiveness of crosslinking strategies. The topics covered include modalities of bioprinting, characteristics of bioink, rheological properties of bioink sols, rheological measurements, mathematical models of bioink rheology, postfabrication polymer network mechanics, mechanical properties of crosslinked bioinks, and printability of bioinks. Finally, specific strategies used for crosslinking bioinks, as well as some emerging strategies to further improve bioinks and their crosslinking, are summarized.

Polymer materials are key building blocks of the modern world, commonly used in packaging, automobiles, building materials, electronics, telecommunications, and many other industries. These commercial applications of polymeric materials would not be possible without the use of additives. This article is divided into five sections: mechanical property modifiers, physical property modifiers, biological function modifiers, processing aids, and colorants. It describes three classes of additives that are used to inhibit biological activity, six classes of mechanical property modifiers, three classes of physical property modifiers, and two classes of both colorants and processing aids.

According to International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/ASTM International 52900, additive manufacturing (AM) can be classified into material extrusion, material jetting, vat photo polymerization, binder jetting, sheet lamination, powder-bed fusion (PBF), and directed-energy deposition. This article discusses the processes involved in polymer powder 3D printing using laser fusion/ sintering and fusing agents and energy, as well as the thermally fused PBF. It provides information on polymer powder parameters and modeling, the powder-handling system, powder characterization, the flowability of powder feedstock, and polymer part characteristics. The article describes the types of polymers in PBF, the processes involved in powder recycling, and the prospects of PBF in AM. In addition, the biomedical application of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is also covered.

This article provides an overview of scanning probe microscopes (scanning tunneling microscope and atomic force microscope (AFM)), covering the various operating modes and probes used in these instruments and providing information on AFM instrumentation, applications, and analyses.

This article begins with a description of extrusion-based bioprinting for tissue scaffold fabrication. It also examines various extrusion-based bioprinting processes and related tissue scaffolding strategies, presents the selection criteria of various bioinks with various polymers and their printed scaffolds for applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicines, and provides future research recommendations to address the shortcomings and issues found in current extrusion-based bioprinting processes.

Aerosol jet printing (AJP) can digitally fabricate intricate patterns on conformal surfaces with applications that include flexible electronics and antennas on complex geometries. Given the potential performance and economic benefits, aerosol jetting was studied and compared with the well-known and competing inkjet printing (IJP). More than 35 of the most relevant, highly cited articles were reviewed, focusing on applications requiring fine features on complex surfaces. The following performance indicators were considered for the comparison of AJP and IJP, because these aspects were the most commonly mentioned within the included articles and were identified as being the most relevant for a comprehensive performance assessment: printing process, line width, overspray, complex surface compatibility, diversity of printable materials, and deposition rate. This article is an account of the results of this comparison study in terms of printing capabilities, ink requirements, and economic aspects.

This article provides detailed information on the instrumentation and principles of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). It begins with a description of the primary components of a conventional SEM instrument. This is followed by a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the SEM compared with other common microscopy and microanalysis techniques. The following sections cover the critical issues regarding sample preparation, the physical principles regarding electron beam-sample interaction, and the mechanisms for many types of image contrast. The article also presents the details of SEM-based techniques and specialized SEM instruments. It ends with example applications of various SEM modes.