Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug 24;16(17):5788.
doi: 10.3390/ma16175788.

Effect of Target Power on Microstructure, Tribological Performance and Biocompatibility of Magnetron Sputtered Amorphous Carbon Coatings

Vishnu Shankar Dhandapani  1   2 , Ramesh Subbiah  3   4 , Elangovan Thangavel  5 , Chang-Lae Kim  6 , Kyoung-Mo Kang  7 , Veeravazhuthi Veeraraghavan  8 , Kwideok Park  3   4 , Dae-Eun Kim  7 , Dongkyou Park  1 , Byungki Kim  2
Affiliations

Effect of Target Power on Microstructure, Tribological Performance and Biocompatibility of Magnetron Sputtered Amorphous Carbon Coatings

Vishnu Shankar Dhandapani et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

The tribological properties and preosteoblast behavior of an RF magnetron-sputtered amorphous carbon coating on a Si (100) substrate were evaluated. The graphite target power was varied from 200 to 500 W to obtain various coating structures. The amorphous nature of the coatings was confirmed via Raman analysis. The contact angle also increased from 58º to 103º, which confirmed the transformation of the a-C surface from a hydrophilic to hydrophobic nature with an increasing graphite target power. A minimum wear rate of about 4.73 × 10-8 mm3/N*mm was obtained for an a-C coating deposited at a 300 W target power. The 300 W and 400 W target power coatings possessed good tribological properties, and the 500 W coating possessed better cell viability and adhesion on the substrate. The results suggest that the microstructure, wettability, tribological behavior and biocompatibility of the a-C coating were highly dependent on the target power of the graphite. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) showed a considerable increase in the Von Mises stress as the mesh size decreased. Considering both the cell viability and tribological properties, the 400 W target power coating was identified to have the best tribological property as well as biocompatibility.

Keywords: amorphous carbon; friction simulation; microstructure; preosteoblasts; tribological property; wettability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Raman spectra of (a) 200 W, (b) 300 W, (c) 400 W and (d) 500 W coatings.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Atomic force microscope (AFM) images of (a) 200 W, (b) 300 W, (c) 400 W and (d) 500 W coatings.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Contact angle measurement of (a) uncoated Si and (b) 200 W, (c) 300 W, (d) 400 W and (e) 500 W coatings.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Coefficient of friction of a-C coatings with different target powers.
Figure 5
Figure 5
FEA simulation results of (a) 0.025 mm mesh size; (b) 0.05 mm mesh size; (c) gradient mesh and (d) von-Mises stress on coating and substrate for all mesh sizes.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The percentage proliferation of preosteoblasts cultured on substrates was measured at day 3 and normalized to the control group. Error bars are means with standard deviations and the significant effects of different groups on bone regeneration are denoted as ** (p < 0.01), *** (p < 0.001) and **** (p < 0.0001), respectively.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The viability assay of preosteoblasts on (a) uncoated Si and (b) 200 W, (c) 300 W, (d) 400 W and (e) 500 W substrates performed on day 3 (green: live cells; red: dead cells; scale bar = 200 μm).
Figure 8
Figure 8
SEM image of preosteoblasts after 3-day incubation period on (a) uncoated Si and (b) 200 W, (c) 300 W, (d) 400 W and (e) 500 W coatings (scale bar = 60 μm).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Berman D., Erdemir A., Zinovev A.V., Sumant A.V. Nanoscale friction properties of graphene and graphene oxide. Diam. Relat. Mater. 2015;54:91–96. doi: 10.1016/j.diamond.2014.10.012. - DOI
    1. Yang X., Zou T., Shi C., Liu E., He C., Zhao N. Effect pf carbon nanotube (CNT) content on the properties of in-situ synthesis CNT reinforced Al composites. Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 2016;660:11–18. doi: 10.1016/j.msea.2016.02.062. - DOI
    1. Bae K.M., Yang H.D., Tufa L.T., Kang T.J. Thermobattery based on CNT coated carbon textile and thermoelectric Electrolyte. Int. Precis. J. Eng. Manuf. 2015;16:1245–1250. doi: 10.1007/s12541-015-0162-6. - DOI
    1. Zhao S., Zheng Z., Huang Z., Dong S., Luo P., Zhang Z., Wang Y. Cu matrix composites reinforced with alighed carbon nanotubes: Mechanical, electrical and termal properties. Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 2016;675:82–91. doi: 10.1016/j.msea.2016.08.044. - DOI
    1. Ryu H.J., Kim S.H., Hong S.H. Effect of deposition pressure on bonding nature in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films processed by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Mater. Sci. Eng. A. 2000;277:57–63. doi: 10.1016/S0921-5093(99)00566-3. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources