Characterization of Titanium Dioxide Coatings Obtained by Vacuum-arc Deposition

Abstract

TiO2 coatings on AISI 430 stainless steel were produced by the vacuum-arc deposition technique with the application of modified curvilinear magnetic filter allowed enhanced deposition rates up to 50 µm/ hour decreasing the amount of macroparticles. The structure, chemical and phase composition of the obtained coatings was investigated using SEM with EDX, XRF and XRD analysis. According to X-ray diffraction analysis, the formation of stoichiometric TiO2 phase took place. The mechanical and tribological properties were established. The obtained coatings had average nanohardness of 13.8 GPa and Young's modulus of 211 GPa. Dry friction wear tests revealed high resistance of the coating to wear showing low friction coefficient under a load of 50 N. The statistical results of photo-catalytic activity showed a significant decrease of E.coli colonies on samples coated with TiO2 during 20 min UV exposure format.