Electrophoretic deposition of silica and its composite coatings on Ti-6Al-4V, and its in vitro corrosion behaviour for biomedical applications.

Novel bioceramics have an intriguing role in implants and prostheses as surface protecting agents. These bioceramics have promising features such as biocompatible, bioactive, and corrosion-resistant natures. Among bioceramics, silica glass and its composite unravel its better desirability against corrosion and wear with interfacial bone bonding capability in physiological systems by nucleating calcium phosphates over the surface, thereby enhancing the osteoinductive property. In the current study, SiO2 and ZnO were obtained by processing silica and zinc oxide precursors at low temperature using low thermal volatilization sol-gel method. SiO2, ZnO, and its composite powders were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used for coating on Ti-6Al-4V for improved coating characteristics. In addition, the effect of additives such as iodine and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on coating limits was also optimized. Thin-film XRD, Optical Microscopy, SEM-EDAX, Raman spectroscopy, and the scratch resistance test characterized the coating. Tafel polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies were also carried out to assess corrosion resistance behaviour of the coating. The results showed that the composite coating has greater corrosion resistance than uncoated Ti-6Al-4V. Furthermore, improved mechanical property with better scratch resistance was also observed. These observations showed that composite coating could be useful in biomedical applications.