Influence of NHn+ beam bombarding energy on structural characterization and cell attachment of CNx coating

The carbon nitride (CK,) coating with its novel properties will be excellent candidate for biomedical applications. CN, coatings were prepared on the surface of Ti-6A1-4V by ion-beam-assisted deposition (MAD) with different NHn+ beam bombarding energies at low substrate temperature. The coatings were characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The result showed that the wear-resistance of CNx coatings was better at higher beam bombarding energy The cell attachment tests also gave interesting results that CNx coatings exhibited low macrophage attachment and provide desirable surface for the normal cellular growth and morphology of the fibroblasts. Structural analysis showed that NHn+ beam bombardment at the energies of 300-400 eV could result in more nitrogen concentration and fraction of sp(3)CN bonds in the structure of CN, coatings, which may be responsible for the improvement in the wear-resistance and the cell attachment. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.