Vacuum-plasma-sprayed silicon coatings for biomedical application

Silicon coating was deposited on titanium alloy substrates by vacuum plasma spraying technology. The morphologies and phase composition of the coatings were analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The thermal expansion coefficient of silicon coating was measured to be about 3.70 × 10−6 K−1. The bond strength of coating was approximately 20.6 MPa. The density, open porosity, roughness and Young's modulus of silicon coating were also measured. The as-sprayed silicon coating was treated by deionized water at 60 °C, 80 °C and 100 °C for a period of time and soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate its bioactivity. The results showed that the water-treated coating could induce apatite to precipitate on its surface in simulated body fluid, indicating that the bioactivity of silicon coating was improved. The increase of temperature and duration of water treatment had a positive effect on the bioactivity of silicon coatings.