Fahimeh Ansari, Reza Naderi and Fahimeh Rafiaei
This paper aims to access the protective function of hybrid sol-gel coatings deposited on 304L stainless steel substrate in silane solutions containing a mixture of…
Abstract
Propose
This paper aims to access the protective function of hybrid sol-gel coatings deposited on 304L stainless steel substrate in silane solutions containing a mixture of tetraethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane and glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane with different pH values during various immersion periods.
Design/methodology/approach
The 304L stainless steels coated through 10 and 30 s of immersion in the silane solutions with pH values of 2.1 and 2.8 were exposed to NaCl solution. The corrosion resistance of the coated substrates was studied through taking advantage of electrochemical noise method as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle and field emission-type scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) surface analysis.
Findings
The electrochemical current noise, PSD (I) plot, noise resistance and characteristic charge as parameters extracted from electrochemical noise method indicated the superiority of eco-friendly silane coating deposited on the substrate surface during 10 s exposure to the solution, due to the film uniformity and homogeneity as confirmed by FESEM and AFM. Moreover, immersion of the stainless steel in the silane solution with pH 2.1, characterized by higher hydrolysis ratio, led to more effective corrosion control in the NaCl electrolyte according to the results of electrochemical noise and FTIR measurements.
Research limitations/implications
The noise resistance and characteristic charge as electrochemical noise parameters were only used in this research to evaluate the protective behavior of the water-based silane sol-gel coatings. Future studies should examine the correlation between electrochemical noise data and the parameters extracted from other electrochemical methods, e.g. electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Practical implications
The data obtained in this research may provide an effective approach based on electrochemical noise method to screen the silane sol-gel coatings for protection of metallic substrates against corrosion.
Originality/value
According to the literature, no report can be found studying the effect of immersion time on a silane solution, including glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane and methyltriethoxysilane, as well as the silane solution pH on the corrosion resistance of 304L stainless steel in NaCl solution through electrochemical noise method.
Details
Keywords
Fahimeh Ansari, Sima Rafiei, Edris Kakemam, Mohammad Amerzadeh and Bahman Ahadinezhad
The provision of private health-care services by public hospitals is common in Iran. Examining factors associated with patients’ preferences to use private health services and…
Abstract
Purpose
The provision of private health-care services by public hospitals is common in Iran. Examining factors associated with patients’ preferences to use private health services and using this knowledge in health planning and policymaking can help expand the use of such services. Thus, this study aims to investigate patients’ preferences for private health services delivered in public hospitals.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a discrete choice experiment from a sample of 375 patients in a public training hospital in Qazvin, northwest city of Iran, the authors evaluated participants’ preference over the health-care attributes affecting their choice to use private health-care services delivered in the hospital. The authors also estimated the marginal willingness to pay to determine the maximum amount a patient was willing to pay for the improvement in the level of each health-care attributes.
Findings
The findings revealed that patients were 2.7 times more likely to choose private hospital services when the waiting time was reduced to less than a week. Furthermore, as patients had complimentary insurance coverage, they were over 60% more likely to receive such services from training hospitals. Finally, continuity of care and reduced health-care tariffs were significant factors that increased patients’ preference to choose private services by 52 and 37%, respectively.
Originality/value
Examining factors associated with patients’ preferences to use private health services and using this knowledge in policymaking can help expand such services. The findings affirmed that various incentives, including service quality factors, are required to increase the likelihood of patients choosing private services.