Silver Coatings Research Articles

Discrete nanosized metallic coatings produced by EB-PVD

This paper presents new technology variants of electron beam vapour phase deposition (EB-PVD) regarding discrete nanosized metal coatings on the surface of powders and granules of organic and inorganic substances. Examples of Ag, Cu and Fe produced coatings on the surfaces of microsized powders of inorganic (NaCl, Al2O3) and organic (polyvinylpyrrolidone, metronidazole, streptomycin, triazolin) substances, and millimetre organic granules (polyethylene, rice and wheat grains) are presented. Main attention is given to discrete silver coatings. Possibilities of transformation of powder systems with discrete coatings into liquid phase systems, for instance, colloids, following a simple technological schematic are shown, that is, deposition of metal nanoparticles on soluble powders of surfactants and subsequent dissolution of composites in water or other solvents. Directions of further research and development are proposed.

Electrochemical corrosion behavior of silver doped tricalcium phosphate coatings on magnesium for biomedical application

Abstract This paper investigates the growth, characterization and electrochemical corrosion properties of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) doped with 0 wt%, 1 wt%, 5 wt% and 10 wt% of silver coatings deposited on magnesium substrate using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The phase and morphological properties of the coatings were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The SEM images showed that increasing the percentage of Ag dopant reduces the size of droplets formed during the deposition process. The corrosion protection behavior of the coated samples was evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization (PD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The corrosion test was performed in Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution and 0.9 wt% saline solution using three electrode electrochemical cell. The results showed that TCP coated magnesium exhibits a much superior stability and lower corrosion rate compared to bare Mg. It was observed that increasing the mass of the Ag dopant increases the corrosion protection, but 10% Ag doping in TCP reduces the corrosion protection behavior. In conclusion, we have developed TCP and TCP doped with 1%, 5% and 10% Ag coating with tunable corrosion protection efficiency.

Plasmonic and silicon spherical nanoparticle antireflective coatings.

Over the last decade, plasmonic antireflecting nanostructures have been extensively studied to be utilized in various optical and optoelectronic systems such as lenses, solar cells, photodetectors, and others. The growing interest to all-dielectric photonics as an alternative optical technology along with plasmonics motivates us to compare antireflective properties of plasmonic and all-dielectric nanoparticle coatings based on silver and crystalline silicon respectively. Our simulation results for spherical nanoparticles array on top of amorphous silicon show that both silicon and silver coatings demonstrate strong antireflective properties in the visible spectral range. For the first time, we show that zero reflectance from the structure with silicon coatings originates from the destructive interference of electric- and magnetic-dipole responses of nanoparticle array with the wave reflected from the substrate, and we refer to this reflection suppression as substrate-mediated Kerker effect. We theoretically compare the silicon and silver coating effectiveness for the thin-film photovoltaic applications. Silver nanoparticles can be more efficient, enabling up to 30% increase of the overall absorbance in semiconductor layer. Nevertheless, silicon coatings allow up to 64% absorbance increase in the narrow band spectral range because of the substrate-mediated Kerker effect, and band position can be effectively tuned by varying the nanoparticles sizes.

Comparison of Some Mechanical and Physical Methods for Measurement of Residual Stresses in Brush-Plated Nickel Hardened Gold and Silver Coatings

Hard gold and silver are applied in coating owing to their high hardness, good wear and corrosion resistance for engineering application (e.g. on generators slip rings, sliding contacts and small machine parts) and are typically plated on copper (mostly), brass and bronze. The studied nickel-hardened gold and silver coatings were brush plated on open thin-walled copper ring substrates. Residual stresses in the coatings were calculated from the curvature changes of the substrates. Biaxial intrinsic residual stresses were also determined by nanoindentation testing and by the X-ray technique. The values of the residual stresses represented tensile stresses and when determined by the techniques used they were comparable within a maximum limit of measurement uncertainty. These stresses relax; the dependence of relaxation time was approximated by a linear-fractional function. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.1.7439

Preventing Implant-Associated Infections by Silver Coating.

Implant-associated infections (IAIs) are a dreaded complication mainly caused by biofilm-forming staphylococci. Implant surfaces preventing microbial colonization would be desirable. We examined the preventive effect of a silver-coated titanium-aluminum-niobium (TiAlNb) alloy. The surface elicited a strong, inoculum-dependent activity againstStaphylococcus epidermidisandStaphylococcus aureusin an agar inhibition assay. Gamma sterilization and alcohol disinfection did not alter the effect. In a tissue cage mouse model, silver coating of TiAlNb cages prevented perioperative infections in an inoculum-dependent manner and led to a 100% prevention rate after challenge with 2 × 10(6)CFU ofS. epidermidisper cage. InS. aureusinfections, silver coating had only limited effect. Similarly, daptomycin or vancomycin prophylaxis alone did not preventS. aureusinfections. However, silver coating combined with daptomycin or vancomycin prophylaxis thwarted methicillin-resistantS. aureusinfections at a prevention rate of 100% or 33%, respectively. Moreover, silver release from the surface was independent of infection and occurred rapidly after implantation. On day 2, a peak of 82 μg Ag/ml was reached in the cage fluid, corresponding to almost 6× the MIC of the staphylococci. Cytotoxicity toward leukocytes in the cage was low and temporary. Surrounding tissue did not reveal histological signs of silver toxicity.In vitro, no emergence of silver resistance was observed in several clinical strains of staphylococci upon serial subinhibitory silver exposures. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that silver-coated TiAlNb is potent for prevention of IAIs and thus can be considered for clinical application.

Boosting the Transparency of Thin Layers by Coatings of Opposing Susceptibility: How Metals Help See Through Dielectrics.

We propose a hypothesis that a very thin layer can be made more transparent by adding a thin coating with susceptibility of opposing sign. Two experimental tests backed by a theoretical model support this hypothesis. First, we show that the visible and near-infrared transmission through a semi-transparent silver film can be enhanced by up to ~70% and spectrally tailored depending on the type and thickness of the dielectric coating. Material types explored as dielectric coating layers include conventional metal oxides (titanium dioxide) and lesser-explored elemental semiconductors (undoped silicon, p-type silicon, and germanium). Second, and more surprisingly, we show that coating a 50-nm-thick silicon nitride membrane with a 10-nm-thick silver layer can modestly enhance the transmission by up to 6 ± 1% in the blue part of the spectrum. Transmission enhancements are observed for three silver-coated membranes in different configurations. Thinner silver coatings are theoretically capable of enhancement factors greater than 10%, but implementation is restricted by challenges in making smooth and continuous silver films below 10 nm in thickness. This study is important because it is the first demonstration of reciprocity with respect to the transmission enhancements achieved by combining thin metallic and dielectric layers.

Chimie douce preparation of reproducible silver coatings for SERS applications

A new soft chemistry preparation method of submicron — thick porous coatings of metallic silver is suggested for possible surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. The method is based on facile deposition of diamminesilver (I) aerosols forming instantly a nanostructured layer by fast decomposition and self–reduction of [Ag(NH[Formula: see text] aqueous solutions onto surfaces of inorganic substrates under mild conditions of 280–300[Formula: see text]C in air. A strong difference in overall microstructures and related SERS signals of model analytes is found for substrates with different deposition time and in comparison with a standard magnetron deposition technique. It is demonstrated that the suggested method is predominant for formation of robust SERS substrates with a stable and reproducible SERS enhancement.

Tribological properties of silver coatings with laser surface textured nickel as interlayer

The textured nickel coatings with the dimple diameters of about 100μm were prepared as the transition layer of silver coatings. The tribological properties of silver coating on textured nickel surface were tested by rubbing against Si3N4 ceramic ball from room temperature to 700°C. The friction coefficient of silver coatings on the textured nickel with the appropriate dimples density is lower and more stable than those on un-textured nickel or textured surface without nickel interlayer. The low friction coefficient (~0.2) can sustain for a long distance at 700°C. With the dimple density increasing, the friction coefficient decreases firstly and then increases. The textured dimples accommodate the wear particles and store soft lubricant at elevated temperatures.

Development of silver coatings on cotton gauzes for prevention of infections in wound care

Development of silver coatings on cotton gauzes for prevention of infections in wound care

Surface Treatments of Stainless Steel by Electroless Silver Coatings as a Bipolar Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of heat treatment at various temperatures on the corrosion behavior of electroless silver-coated SS 304 in a simulated proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell environment. The corrosion properties of this material were studied using a potentiodynamic polarization technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, polarization curves, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of coated and heat-treated specimens obtained in various heating temperatures were also utilized. It was found that the corrosion potential of the coated and heat-treated specimens shift toward a noble potential, and a significant decrease in corrosion current density was also observed. The corrosion current density decreased by a factor of about 1/500 for the heat-treated sample of 600 °C compared to the substrate. The heat-treated specimens displayed greater corrosion resistance than unheated and bare ones. According to the polarization studies and SEM images, the heat-treated specimen at 600 °C shows excellent corrosion resistance with a homogeneous dense surface morphology. These results demonstrated the coatings were suited for fuel cell applications in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) environment.

Silver Coating for High-Mass-Accuracy Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Fingerprints on Nanostructured Silicon.

Nanostructure imaging mass spectrometry (NIMS) using porous silicon (pSi) is a key technique for molecular imaging of exogenous and endogenous low molecular weight compounds from fingerprints. However, high-mass-accuracy NIMS can be difficult to achieve as time-of-flight (ToF) mass analyzers, which dominate the field, cannot sufficiently compensate for shifts in measured m/z values. Here, we show internal recalibration using a thin layer of silver (Ag) sputter-coated onto functionalized pSi substrates. NIMS peaks for several previously reported fingerprint components were selected and mass accuracy was compared to theoretical values. Mass accuracy was improved by more than an order of magnitude in several cases. This straightforward method should form part of the standard guidelines for NIMS studies for spatial characterization of small molecules.

Fiber-optic ammonia sensor using Ag/SnO(2) thin films: optimization of thickness of SnO(2) film using electric field distribution and reaction factor.

A highly sensitive ammonia gas sensor exploiting the gas sensing characteristics of tin oxide (SnO2) has been reported. The methodology of the sensor is based on the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with a fiber-optic probe consisting of coatings of silver as a plasmonic material and SnO2 as the sensing layer. The sensing principle relies on the change in refractive index of SnO2 upon its reaction with ammonia gas. The capability of the sensor has been tested for a 10 to 100ppm concentration range of ammonia gas. To enhance the sensitivity, probes with different thicknesses of SnO2 have been fabricated and characterized for ammonia sensing. It has been found that at a particular thickness the sensitivity is highest. The reason for the highest sensitivity at a particular thickness has been evinced theoretically. The electromagnetic field distribution for the multilayer structure of the probe reveals the enhancement of the evanescent field at the tin oxide-ammonia gas interface, which in turn manifests the highest shift in resonance wavelength at a particular thickness. The selectivity of the probe has been tested for various gases, and it has been found to be most accurate for the sensing of ammonia. A sensor utilizing optical fiber, the SPR technique, and metal oxide as sensing element combines the advantages of a miniaturized probe, online monitoring, and remote sensing on one hand and stability, high sensitivity and selectivity, ruggedness, and low cost on the other.

Anti-biofilm effect of nanometer scale silver (NmSAg) coatings on glass and polystyrene surfaces against P. mirabilis, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis strains.

Nowadays, in order to terminate biofilm associated infections, coating of particular biomaterial surfaces with particular substances, via some nanotechnological tools, is being applied. Therefore, in the present study, investigation of anti-biofilm effects of nanometer scale silver (NmSAg) coatings on glass and polystyrene surfaces against clinical strains of Proteus mirabilis, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis was aimed. In this study, glass and polystyrene slabs with 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm × 0.3 mm dimensions were cleaned by using surface plasma technology, covered with NmSAg by using a physical vapor deposition machine, and biofilm inhibition was determined by crystal violet binding assay. According to our results, 32 nm of silver layer on a glass slab decreased biofilm formation of P. mirabilis strain to a maximum amount of 88.1% and caused 20.9% inhibition in biofilm formation of C. glabrata strain. On the other hand, NmS coating of Ag on a polystyrene slab caused 34.4% and 20% inhibitions, respectively, in biofilm formations of C. glabrata and C. tropicalis strains. Although biofilm inhibition of NmSAg layer on polystyrene slab was more (34.4%) than biofilm inhibition caused by NmSAg layer on glass slab (20.9%), C. glabrata strain's biofilm formation on uncoated glass slab was lower than both uncoated and NmSAg-coated polystyrene slabs. Our results show that glass surfaces with NmSAg coatings can be used as a new surface material of various indwelling devices on which P. mirabilis colonizations frequently occur and in order to avoid C. glabrata-associated biofilm infections, it is more useful to choose a surface material of glass rather than choosing a surface material of polystyrene.

Nanoindentation simulation of coated aluminum thin film using quasicontinuum method

Two-dimensional quasicontinuum simulations of nanoindentation processes are conducted on aluminum thin films with nickel, copper, and silver coatings of different thicknesses under various indenter widths using the embedded atom method (EAM) potentials. To study the effects of protective coating on the mechanical behavior of coated aluminum thin films, the nanoindentation process is performed to determine the hardness, the critical indentation load for first dislocation emission, the critical indentation depth and other associated physical phenomena, such as defect nucleation and evolution beneath the indenter. The obtained results reveal that surface coatings at nanoscale contacts may have a pronounced effect on the perceived hardness of the surface. Aluminum thin films with nickel and copper coatings can adopt the hardness and critical indentation load of the coating material, whereas silver coating cannot improve the aluminum hardness at nanoscale contacts. The critical indentation depth increases with the decrease of coating thickness, which indicates that a softening phenomenon happens in the coated aluminum thin film. The critical indentation depth and the critical indentation load increase with the increase of the indenter width, while the indentation hardness decreases as the indenter width increases. The results are shown to be in good agreement with limited available experimental data and the analytical Rice–Thomson and Peierls–Nabarro dislocation models.

Antimicrobial effect and biocompatibility of novel metallic nanocrystalline implant coatings.

The present in vitro study was designed to evaluate the surface characteristics, biocompatibilities and antimicrobial effects of experimental titanium implant surfaces, coated by nanocrystalline silver, copper, and bismuth. Biocompatible and antimicrobial implant modifications could result in reduced biofilm formation on implant surfaces and therefore in less periimplant inflammation. Titanium discs (thickness 1 mm and 12 mm in diameter) were coated by pulsed magnetron-sputtering of nanocrystalline metals (bismuth, copper, and silver). Bismuth coatings revealed higher surface roughness values in comparison to silver and copper coatings via atomic force microscopy. Ion release after 168 h in culture medium was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and showed significant different amounts of released copper (>120 000 µg/L), silver (550 µg/L) or bismuth (80 µg/L). No cytotoxic effect on HaCaT cell proliferation was detected on the uncoated Ti/TiO2 reference surfaces, the bismuth coatings and silver coatings. In contrast, copper-coated discs showed a strong cytotoxic effect. All three coatings exhibited antimicrobial effects by trend in the fluorometric Resazurin testing and significant localized antibacterial effects in live/dead microscopy after incubation of the specimens for 150 min in bacterial solution of S. epidermidis. The tested metallic implant coatings (silver and bismuth) allowed surface modifications that may improve therapeutic approaches to biofilm prevention on dental implants. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1571-1579, 2016.

Nanostructured titanium–silver coatings with good antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility fabricated by one-step magnetron sputtering

Bacterial infection and loosing are serious complications for biomedical implants in the orthopedic, dental, and other biomedical fields and the ideal implants should combine good antibacterial ability and bioactivity. In this study, nanostructured titanium–silver (Ti–Ag) coatings with different Ag contents (1.2 to 21.6at%) are prepared on Ti substrates by magnetron sputtering. As the Ag concentration is increased, the coatings change from having dense columnar crystals to sparse ones and eventually no columnar structure. The Ti–Ag coatings can effectively kill Staphylococcus aureus during the first few days and remain moderately antibacterial after immersion for 75 days. Compared to pure Ti, the Ti–Ag coatings show good cytocompatibility as indicated by good osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, intracellular total protein synthesis, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. In addition, cell spreading, collagen secretion, and extracellular matrix mineralization are promoted on the coatings with the proper Ag contents due to the nanostructured morphological features. Our results indicate that favorable antibacterial activity and osseointegration ability can be simultaneously achieved by regulating the Ag contents in Ti–Ag coatings.

Electroless and Electrodeposition of Silver from a Choline Chloride-Based Ionic Liquid

The electroless and electrolytic deposition of silver from a solution containing silver nitrate in either an ethylene glycol (EG)-choline chloride based or a urea-choline chloride based ionic liquids has been carried out onto steel and copper cathodes by simple immersion, constant current and constant potential methods at room temperature. It has been found that electroless silver deposits of up to several micronshave been obtained by dip coating from both urea and EG based ionic liquids without the use of catalysts. The influences of various experimental conditions on electrodeposition and morphology of the deposited layers have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It has been observed that crack free bright metallic coloured silver coatings can be obtained from both EG and urea based ionic liquids at the applied deposition potentials up to -0.40 V and applied deposition current densities up to -5.0 A m-2 at room temperature. The cathodic current efficiency for the deposition of Ag is about 99%.

Investigating the effect of silver coating on the solubility, antibacterial properties, and cytocompatibility of glass microspheres.

Silver (Ag) coatings have been incorporated into many medical materials due to its ability to eradicate harmful microbes. In this study, glass microspheres (SiO2-Na2O-CaO-Al2O3) were synthesized and employed as substrates to investigate the effect Ag coating has on glass solubility and the subsequent biological effects. Initially, glasses were amorphous with a glass transition point (T(g)) of 605℃ and microspheres were spherical with a mean particle diameter of 120 µm (±27). The Ag coating was determined to be crystalline in nature and its presence was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ion release determined that Ag-coated (Ag-S) microspheres increased the Na(+) release rate but slightly reduced the Ca(2+) and Si(4+) release compared to an uncoated control (UC-S). Additionally, the Ag-S reduced the pH to just above neutral (7.3-8.5) compared to the UC-S (7.7-9.1). Antibacterial testing determined significant reductions in planktonic Escherichia coli (p = 0.000), Staphylococcus epidermidis (p = 0.000) and Staphylococcus aureus (p = 0.000) growth as a function of the presence of Ag and with respect to maturation (1, 7, and 30 days). Testing for toxicity levels using L929 Fibroblasts determined higher cell viability for the Ag-S at lower concentrations (5 µg/ml); in addition, no significant reduction in cell viability was observed with higher concentrations (15, 30 µg/ml).

Superhydrophobic inorganic–organic composite coatings with hybrid micro‐nano binary structure on copper

Superhydrophobic surface of inorganic–organic composite coating with mechanical durability was fabricated via the combination of electroless galvanic deposition and crystal growth technique. Silver with dendritic morphologies was prepared on copper surface by electroless galvanic deposition. Stearic acid as a third phase was introduced to modify the morphology of the silver coatings. Fabrication of the inorganic–organic composite coatings improved effectively the mechanical durability and the hydrophobicity of silver coating. The hierarchical roughness features of the inorganic–organic composite coatings were investigated with scanning electron microscopy. The hydrophobicity of the composite coatings was characterized by contact‐angle goniometry. The inorganic–organic composite coatings consist of the petal‐like morphologies of stearic acid and the dendritic morphologies of silver. The hybrid hierarchical structure of the composite coatings shows a positive effect on the hydrophobicity and the mechanical durability. The contact angle of the superhydrophobic surfaces reached up to 162.6°. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Description of particle induced damage on protected silver coatings.

In the visible to infrared spectral range, highly-reflective silver mirrors are applied in the manufacture of optical instruments such as telescopes. However, it is still difficult to combine high reflectivity and long-term stability of the protected silver coating. We show that the deposition of impervious protective layers is necessary but often not sufficient for long-term environmental stability. Hygroscopic air borne particles absorbed by the protections surface attract water molecules and form a solution. This solution first damages the protection, subsequently permeates the protection and finally damages the silver whereby the reflectivity is reduced. We demonstrate this particular damage mechanism with different experiments and describe this mechanism in detail.