TOWARDS NOVEL LONG-LASTING S-PHASE BASED ANTI-BACTERIAL COATINGS

摘要

Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are a well-known nuisance to the society due to the patient morbidity and death. They cause avoidable expenses and strain on the health care systems of nations around the world. It is hypothesised that anti-bacterial coatings can mitigate such problems. This research is aimed to produce optimized austenitic stainless steel S-phase (or expanded austenite) coating microstructure and combine it with active anti-bacterial elements Ag and Cu by means of PVD techniques. It has been found that it is possible to produce tough and dense corrosion resistance S-phase coatings with high adhesion to substrates. Co-deposition of Ag/Cu with S-phase, brought about significant anti-bacterial efficacy which functionalised S-phase coatings for the first time. This was achieved while preserving the advantageous properties of the S-phase microstructure.