Abstract
Zr-based nitrides and oxynitrides were deposited by reactive cathodic arc evaporation in monolayer and double-layer structures with the aim of increasing the corrosion protection of 304L stainless steel (SS) in a biomedical aggressive environment. All coatings had a total thickness of 1.2 µm. Compared to the bare substrate, the surface roughness of the coated samples was higher, the presence of microdroplets being revealed by scanning electron micrography (SEM). The X-ray diffraction investigation of the ZrN phases revealed that the peaks shifted towards lower Bragg angles and the lattice constants increased as a result of Si and O2 inclusion in ZrN lattice, and of the ion bombardment characteristic of the cathodic arc method, augmented by the applied bias substrate. SS/ZrSiN/ZrSi(N,O) showed the best corrosion performance in an acidic environment (0.9% NaCl and 6% H2O2; pH = 4), which was ascribed to the blocking effect of the interfaces, which acted as a corrosion barrier for the electrolyte ingress. Moreover, the aforementioned bilayer had the highest amount of Si and O in the composition of the top layer, forming a stable passive layer with beneficial effects on corrosion protection.
Highlights
304L stainless steel, abbreviated in the following paper as SS, is extensively used in dentistry [1,2], orthodontics [3,4], and orthopedics [5] due to its low cost, related processability, high corrosion resistance, suitable bio-mechanical performance, and advantageous bio-affinity
There are drawbacks related to its use as a biomaterial, such as poor bio-functional performance [6] and reduced local corrosion resistance if exposed to chloride ion solutions [7,8], various macromolecules comprised of one or more long chains of polypeptides, or even just to amino acids [9,10,11]— all of which are present in human body fluids
One way is coating 304L steel with thin films that have high corrosion resistance, high adhesion, and good biocompatibility. Ceramic coatings, such as refractory nitrides based on transition metals (e.g., TiN and ZrN) deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD), have a wide range of applications due to their high hardness, high adhesion, wear-resistance and low friction coefficient, superior corrosion resistance in aggressive environments, superior electric and thermal conductivity, significant chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures, optical properties similar to gold, and complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatibility [13,14,15,16,17,18]
Summary
304L stainless steel, abbreviated in the following paper as SS, is extensively used in dentistry [1,2], orthodontics [3,4], and orthopedics [5] due to its low cost, related processability, high corrosion resistance (specific to stainless steel alloys), suitable bio-mechanical performance, and advantageous bio-affinity. There are drawbacks related to its use as a biomaterial, such as poor bio-functional performance [6] and reduced local corrosion resistance if exposed to chloride ion solutions [7,8], various macromolecules comprised of one or more long chains of polypeptides, or even just to amino acids [9,10,11]— all of which are present in human body fluids. One way is coating 304L steel with thin films that have high corrosion resistance, high adhesion, and good biocompatibility Ceramic coatings, such as refractory nitrides based on transition metals (e.g., TiN and ZrN) deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD), have a wide range of applications due to their high hardness, high adhesion, wear-resistance and low friction coefficient, superior corrosion resistance in aggressive environments, superior electric and thermal conductivity, significant chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures, optical properties similar to gold, and complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatibility [13,14,15,16,17,18]. Roughness measurements, scanning electron micrographs, and elemental compositions after corrosive attack were used to analyze the corrosion behavior of the deposited coatings in the context of their biomedical application
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