The effect of the surface morphology of the aluminium oxide layer on the physical and bacterial attachment behavior

Abstract

Coating of the metal surface for different fields such as corrosion resistance, hydrophobic surface, and conductivity properties enhance the material quality for different application. Furthermore, controlling the morphological structures and the size of the coating materials is one of the most important factors for designing their functionality. The new approaches to the effect of surface properties at the atomic level on bacterial adhesion offer new perspectives on this subject. In this study, the effect of the different current densities on the morphological microstructural features, microhardness properties, and bacterial attachment behavior of the protective aluminum oxide layer was investigated by using different analytical and instrumental methods. The Staphylococcus aureus was used as a model bacteria for attachment tests. The result presented in the current study exhibited that the crystal morphology, microhardness, and bacterial adhesion features have changed depending on the applied current density. Increasing the current density from 1.5 to 1.7 raises the microhardness from 88 to 126 (Vickers) and causes higher surface roughness by 56 nm, 114 nm and 124 nm respectively. The high number of the attached bacteria were determined on the more roughness surface during the study.