Synthesis, characterization, and application of nanostructured hard coatings

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Components in moving contact with other bodies are subject to wear. Wear is the major failure mechanism limiting the lifetime of various components such as tools, machine parts, and biomedical implants. The world-wide cost due to wear is estimated to be $300 billion per year. Increasing wear resistance is the key to improving the durability and cost effectiveness of various components. Surface coating is an important technology for reducing wear and extending performance of components. The long-term goal of the research program is to develop technologies and design methods to engineer surface coatings at the nanometer scale on technologically important materials to achieve desired properties (e.g. high wear resistance and excellent biocompatibility) for various applications. During the course of this research proposal, progress will made towards long-term goal by focusing on developing technologies to address important challenges in the area of nanocoatings and solve critical problems for some applications. One major theme is to synthesize novel nanocomposite coatings and understand their basic aspects, thus generating new knowledge in the area of nanostructured materials. Another main theme is to discover and develop innovative applications of the developed coatings that benefit Canadians.***Particularly, the research will focus on the creation, development, and application of novel nanostructured coatings for advanced machine parts, actuators, electron emitters, and biomedical implants with a menu of targeted desirable qualities. These qualities will be imparted by using suitable nanostructures in the coatings. It will lead to important contributions to both fundamental understanding of advanced nanomaterials and their applications. First, it will contribute significantly to enhancing the capacity for nanomaterials synthesis and application in Canada. Second, efforts to develop procedures and expertise to synthesize and characterize diamond-based nanostructured coatings and evaluate their biomedical and tribological performance will lead to a better understanding of the basic scientific issues related to nanomaterials and the interaction between implants and human tissues. In addition, the research aims to develop and investigate new nanostructured composite coatings, generating new knowledge in the area of nanostructured materials. Finally, the research will provide excellent opportunities for training highly qualified personnel with integrated knowledge in physics, chemistry, electronics, and data analysis as well as materials science and engineering.********