Fabrication and nanoindentation properties of TiN/NiTi thin films and their applications in electrochemical sensing

Nanocrystalline TiN/NiTi thin films have been grown on silicon substrate by dc magnetron sputtering to improve the corrosion and mechanical properties of NiTi based shape memory alloys without sacrificing the phase transformation effect. Interestingly, the preferential orientation of the TiN films was observed to change from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0) with change in nature of sputtering gas from 70% Ar + 30% N2 to 100% N2. In present study the influence of crystallographic orientation of TiN on mechanical and corrosion properties of TiN/NiTi thin films was investigated. TiN (2 0 0)/NiTi films were found to exhibit high hardness, high elastic modulus, and thereby better wear resistance as compared to pure NiTi and TiN (1 1 1)/NiTi films. Electrochemical test revealed that TiN coated NiTi film exhibits better corrosion resistance in 1 M NaCl solution as compared to uncoated NiTi film. The application of TiN/NiTi films in the electrochemical sensing of dopamine, which has a critical physiological importance in Parkinson's disease, has been demonstrated. A comparison of voltammetric response of dopamine at silicon based electrodes modified with different nanocrystalline coatings indicated that these films catalyze the oxidation of dopamine.