Improving the bio-corrosion behavior of AISI316L stainless steel through deposition of Ta-based thin films using PACVD

摘要

In this study, the Ta and Ta/TaN films were deposited on AISI 316L stainless steel (SS) using pulsed-DC plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) method to simultaneously improve its corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The results showed that the deposited Ta/TaN films represents a uniform and flawless microstructure with better adhesion to substrate compared to single layer Ta due to the enhancement of Ta nucleation suppressed by TaN interlayer and also lower lattice mismatch between Ta and TaN. The Ta and Ta/TaN films showed the better surface wettability compared to the bare SS owing to the different hydrophilic nature of their spontaneously formed oxide layers. The Ta/TaN film exhibited the excellent corrosion resistance which is mainly attributed to its dense and flaw-free microstructure. The cell viability observations revealed that due to lower corrosion rate, the adhesion and also proliferation of cells on Ta/TaN film are meaningfully higher than that of bare SS and single layer Ta. After biofilm removal, the Ta/TaN film exhibited a higher integrity and adhesion to substrate compared to the single layer Ta.