Characterization and nanomechanical properties of novel dental implant coatings containing copper decorated-carbon nanotubes

Fluorapatite–titania coated Ti-based implants are promising for using in dental surgery for restoring teeth. One of the challenges in implantology is to achieve a bioactive coating with appropriate mechanical properties. In this research, simple sol–gel method was developed for synthesis of fluorapatite–titania–carbon nanotube decorated with antibacterial agent. Triethyl phosphate [PO4(C2H5)3], calcium nitrate [Ca(NO3)2] and ammonium fluoride (NH4F) were used as precursors under an ethanol–water based solution for fluorapatite (FA) production. Titanium isopropoxide and isopropanol were used as starting materials for making TiO2 sol–gels. Also, Copper acetate [Cu(C2H3O2)2·H2O] was used as precursor for decoration of multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with wet chemical method. The decorated MWCNTs (CNT(Cu)) were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phase identification of the FA–TiO2–CNT(Cu) coating was carried out by XRD analysis. Morphology of coated samples was investigated by SEM observations. The surface elastic modulus and hardness of coatings were studied using nanoindentation technique. The results indicate that novel dental implant coating containing FA, TiO2 and copper decorated MWCNTs have proper morphological features. The results of nanoindentation test show that incorporation of CNT(Cu) in FA–TiO2 matrix can improve the nanomechanical properties of composite coating.