Surface energy and surface chemical bonds of the plasma treated Si incorporated diamond-like carbon films (Si-DLC) were investigated. The Si-DLC films were prepared by r.f. plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition using benzene and diluted silane (SiH 4 /H 2 = 10:90) as the precursor gases. The Si-DLC films were subjected to plasma treatment using various gases like N 2 , O 2 , H 2 and CF 4 . The plasma treated Si-DLC films showed a wide range of water contact angles from 13.4°to 92.1°. The surface energies of the plasma treated Si-DLC films revealed a high polar component for O 2 plasma treated Si-DLC films and a low polar component for CF 4 plasma treated Si-DLC films. The CF 4 plasma treated Si-DLC films indicated the minimum surface energy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the polarizability of the bonds present on the surface explains the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the plasma treated Si-DLC films. We also suggest that the O 2 plasma treated surface can provide an excellent hemocompatible surface from the estimated interfacial energy between the plasma treated Si-DLC surface and human blood.
Hydrogenated diamond-like carbon films (a-C:H DLC) were deposited on STS 304 substrates for the fabrication of vascular stents by means of the r.f. plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique. This study provides reliable and quantitative data for the assessment of the effect of strain on the corrosion performance of DLC-coated systems in the simulated body fluid obtained through electrochemical techniques (potentiodynamic polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and surface analysis (scanning electron microscopy). The electrolyte used in this test was 0.89% NaCl solution at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C. It was found that the corrosion resistance of the plastically deformed DLC coating was insufficient for use as a protective film in a corrosive body environment. This is due to the increase in the delamination area and degradation of the substrate's corrosion properties with increasing tensile deformation.
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