Annealing and N2 Plasma Treatment to Minimize Corrosion of SiC-Coated Glass-Ceramics

Abstract

To improve the chemical durability of SiC-based coatings on glass-ceramics, the effects of annealing and N2 plasma treatment were investigated. Fluorapatite glass-ceramic disks were coated with SiC via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), treated with N2 plasma followed by an annealing step, characterized, and then immersed in a pH 10 buffer solution for 30 days to study coating delamination. Post-deposition annealing was found to densify the deposited SiC and lessen SiC delamination during the pH 10 immersion. When the SiC was treated with a N2 plasma for 10 min, the bulk properties of the SiC coating were not affected but surface pores were sealed, slightly improving the SiC’s chemical durability. By combining N2 plasma-treatment with a post-deposition annealing step, film delamination was reduced from 94% to 2.9% after immersion in a pH 10 solution for 30 days. X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) detected a higher concentration of oxygen on the surface of the plasma treated films, indicating a thin SiO2 layer was formed and could have assisted in pore sealing. In conclusion, post-deposition annealing and N2 plasma treatment where shown to significantly improve the chemical durability of PECVD deposited SiC films used as a coating for glass-ceramics.

Demonstration of a SiC Protective Coating for Titanium Implants

“…The interfacial adhesion was intact and uninterrupted across the entire exposed region. In a previous report, SiC used as a protective coating for dental ceramics was shown to exhibit delamination when placed in a corrosive solution over time, which was mitigated by annealing and plasma treating the SiC after deposition [71]. Similar corrosion/delamination studies should be explored in the future for SiC-coated titanium to further optimize this coating's protective capability.…”

“…These bonds are commonly found in PECV-deposited SiC and contribute to a lower hardness compared to other methods of SiC deposition [79]. Postdeposition processing such as annealing treatments can be used to reduce the hydrogen incorporation if desired [71]. After using FTIR to determine the bulk properties of the SiC, XPS survey scans were taken on the SiC-coated titanium disks to quantify the surface composition of the SiC.…”

“…These bonds are commonly found in PECV-deposited SiC and contribute to a lower hardness compared to other methods of SiC deposition [ 79 ]. Post-deposition processing such as annealing treatments can be used to reduce the hydrogen incorporation if desired [ 71 ].…”

Graphene Nanocoating: High Quality and Stability upon Several Stressors

“…Titanium implants present 2 major shortcomings: the long time taken for effective integration and no inherent antimicrobial properties (Huang et al 2001; Chouirfa et al 2019; Fares et al 2020). GN on titanium alloy has promising antiadhesive properties and can increase bone formation (Agarwalla et al 2019; Dubey et al 2020).…”

“…Surface coatings to improve implant integration can present unfavorable mechanical properties, posing a risk of delamination (Fares et al 2020). Also, antibiotic surfaces may not present optimized release kinetics or be able to damage specific microbial strains, hence increasing the chances of resistant isolates (Derks et al 2016).…”