CHARACTERIZATION AND TRIBOLOGICAL TESTING OF A CARBON-BASED NANOLAYER PREPARED BY ION BEAM ASSISTED DEPOSITION

1 HORAZDOVSKY Tomas
Co-authors:
2 KOVAC Janez 3 DRBOHLAV Ivo
Institutions:
1 Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Republic, EU.
2 Jozef Stefan Institute, Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Ljubljana, Slovenia, EU.
3 Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Physics, Czech Republic, EU.
Conference:
8th International Conference on Nanomaterials - Research & Application, Hotel Voronez I, Brno, Czech Republic, EU, October 19th - 21st 2016
Proceedings:
Proceedings 8th International Conference on Nanomaterials - Research & Application
Pages:
86-91
ISBN:
978-80-87294-71-0
ISSN:
2694-930X
Published:
17th March 2017
Proceedings of the conference were published in Web of Science and Scopus.
Metrics:
473 views / 199 downloads
Abstract

Carbon-based nanolayers have been attracting much attention due to their excellent low-friction properties, their high hardness and their good wear resistance. In this work we present the results of material research aimed at reducing the friction of the functional surfaces of titanium implants, and thus extending their lifetime to reoperation. Nitrogen ion beam assisted deposition of a carbon-based nanolayer was applied to modify the surface properties (i.e. sliding and wear) of Ti6Al4V biomedical titanium alloy. Ion bombardment caused structural changes, which led to an increase in surface hardness by a factor of 1.86 in comparison with a surface modified by a carbon nanolayer without nitrogen ion bombardment. An analysis of the chemical composition showed that the modified surface is composed of a carbon-based nanolayer, a mixed interface, and a nitrogen-enriched sublayer. Raman spectroscopy showed the DLC character of the carbon-based nanolayer with sp2 rich bonds. A TiN compound was detected by X-ray diffraction in the modified surface area. A very low friction coefficient below 0.1 was maintained for a normal load of 2N. The sliding behavior of the head (Ti6Al4V) and the shell (PEEK) tested on a joint wear simulator showed that surface modification of the head of the implant under optimized deposition conditions provides protection for the functional surfaces, leading to a reduction in wear and a substantial increase in lifetime.

Keywords: Nanolayer, friction, nanohardness

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