Structural, Mechanical, and Decorative Properties of Sputtered TiN and Ti (N, C) Films for Orthodontic Applications; an In Vitro Study.

Victor Suciu,Filipe Vaz,Marcio A Correa,Armando Ferreira,Daniel Munteanu

doi:10.3390/ma14185175

Victor Suciu, Filipe Vaz + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185175

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Abstract

In this paper, we explore and modify the structural, mechanical, and decorative properties of films composed by TiN and Ti (N, C) with a wide range of N2 gas flow during the deposition in order to be used on orthodontic systems. The films were grown using reactive DC magnetron sputtering from a pure Ti target and customized with C pellets onto Si and stainless steel 316L substrates. The structural properties were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, while the mechanical ones were obtained through hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient. Moreover, the wear rate has been measured under an artificial saliva medium to simulate the oral cavity. The color of the films deposited onto stainless steel 316 L substrate was characterized through CIELab color code. Our findings show that the addition of N2 and C in the Ti matrix improves the mechanical properties of the films. With the increase in the amount of N2 and C, the hardness reaches a value of 739 HV, higher than the one reported in the literature (600 HV), a low value of the coefficient of elasticity (8.0 GPa), and also a low friction coefficient (0.30). Moreover, with the addition of N2 and C in the Ti films, the color of the films changes from metallic aspect until “with” gold, which means that our coatings exhibit versatile mechanical and color characteristics to be used in orthodontic wires applications.

Highlights

Accepted: 6 September 2021Orthodontics is centered on correcting and preventing dental-facial anomalies such as maligned teeth or improper positions of the jaws and, incorrect occlusion
These appliances consisted of attachments that are bound to the surface of the tooth, as shown in Figure 1; they are called brackets and wires produced from nickel (Ni) and titanium (Ti), the “nitinol”, and become one of the most used materials for orthodontic wires, along with stainless steel and β-Ti [3]
These results indicate that the commercially available arch wires have a friction coefficient significantly higher compared with our results. This means that our findings concerning mechanical characterization bring to light an exciting way to tuning the mechanical properties to given applications on orthodontic systems

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 6 September 2021Orthodontics is centered on correcting and preventing dental-facial anomalies such as maligned teeth or improper positions of the jaws and, incorrect occlusion. Orthodontic appliances have known a significant development aided by the metal manufacturing technologies that have become available [1,2]. After the application of force tipping, the movement of the tooth starts, which will create an angle between the bracket slot and wire. When this contact reaches a specific contact point, adhesion between the metallic surfaces will occur, resulting in friction resistance to sliding [4,5]

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