Production and Characterisation of Wear-Resistant and Anti-Microbial TiN/Ag Nanocomposite Coatings

该项目旨在为一项访问研究金提供资金，以研究新型纳米复合TiN/Ag表面涂层，该涂层在切削工具和生物材料等领域具有潜在的应用前景。氮化钛（TiN）是一种坚硬、耐磨的涂层材料，广泛应用于切削工具和成形工具以及在磨料磨损环境中运行的其他部件。然而，TiN不是已知的低摩擦材料，并且在使用期间通常不对配合面提供保护。事实上，对这些技术生产的薄膜进行无润滑摩擦学测试，根据测试几何形状、配合面材料等，摩擦系数往往在0.3-0.9范围内。然而，我们的研究表明，在目标处以及最近在基底处引入脉冲处理可以显著增强TiN涂层的摩擦学特性，例如，在无润滑磨损试验中记录的摩擦系数小于0.1。预计在这些涂层中包含银可以进一步增强它们的特性。当通过从两个靶共溅射沉积在一起时，涂层形成由围绕银纳米颗粒的TiN基质组成的结构。在磨损情况下，银颗粒可用作固体润滑剂，从而降低摩擦系数并减少对配合面的损坏。这些涂层的“自润滑”性质，加上它们的高硬度和耐刮擦性，使它们在摩擦学应用中具有吸引力。此外，钛化合物也具有生物相容性。结合这些特性与固有的抗微生物性质的银开辟了一些新的应用TiN/Ag纳米复合薄膜，例如，在生物医学或食品加工industries. While含银的纳米复合涂层已被许多研究的主题，有很少的TiN/Ag系统的公开工作，只有有限的考虑这些薄膜的性能。因此，访问学者将研究纳米复合TiN/Ag涂层的生产，测试其表面性能，并研究这些涂层的新应用。中央兰开夏约斯特摩擦技术研究所的合作者将协助访问学者评估涂层的摩擦学性能。从微生物学的角度来看，MMU的在职工作人员将协助评估涂层对微生物保留和表面活力的影响，使用一系列在医疗器械感染和食品加工表面污染中具有重要意义的微生物。

This proposal seeks funding for a Visiting Fellowship to investigate novel nano-composite TiN/Ag surface coatings with potential applications in areas as diverse as cutting tools and biomaterials.Titanium nitride (TiN) is a workhorse hard, wear resistant coating material, which is widely applied to cutting and forming tools and other components operating in an abrasive wear environment. TiN is not, though, known as a low friction material and does not generally offer protection to the mating face during use. Indeed, unlubricated tribological tests on films produced by these techniques tend to result in coefficients of friction in the range 0.3-0.9, depending on test geometry, mating face material, etc. However, our studies have shown that the introduction of pulsed processing at the target and more recently at the substrate can lead to a remarkable enhancement of the tribological characteristics of TiN coatings with, for example, coefficients of friction of less than 0.1 being recorded in unlubricated wear tests.It is anticipated that the inclusion of silver in these coatings can further enhance their characteristics. When deposited together by co-sputtering from two targets, the coating forms a structure that consists of a matrix of TiN surrounding nano-particles of silver. In wear situations, the silver particles can act as a solid lubricant, thus lowering the coefficient of friction and reducing damage to the mating face. The 'self-lubricating' nature of these coatings, combined with their high hardness and scratch resistance makes them attractive for tribological applications. Moreover, titanium compounds are also biocompatible. Combining these properties with the inherent anti-microbial nature of silver opens up a number of novel applications for TiN/Ag nano-composite films in, for example, the bio-medical or food processing industries.Whilst Ag-containing nano-composite coatings have been the subject of a number of studies, there is very little published work on the TiN/Ag system, with only limited consideration of the properties of these films. The Visiting Fellow will, therefore, study the production of nano-composite TiN/Ag coatings, characterise their surface properties, and investigate novel applications of these coatings. Collaborators at the Jost Institute of Tribotechnology at UCLan will assist the Visiting Fellow in the assessment of the tribological properties of the coatings. And from a microbiological perspective, in-post staff at MMU will assist by assessing the coatings in terms of their effect on microbial retention and viability on surfaces using a range of microorganisms of importance in medical device infection, and contamination of food processing surfaces.