Design and Morphology Characterization of Biopolymer Blend-ZnO Nanocomposites Coated Cu-Ni-Mo-based Steel Foam

Abstract

Recent developments have been focused on the fabrication and application of metal-metal oxide nanocomposites coated steel foam for nanomaterials, which can have excellent surface morphology and mechanical properties than conventional materials. In this study, a novel 3 dimensional (3D) biopolymer blend-ZnO nanocomposites coated Cu-Ni-Mo-based steel foam was designed and prepared. The objective of this work was to investigate the deposition of the nanofilm by immersion of the steel foam into a solution containing ZnO nanostructures and to determine the effect of the surface coating of biopolymer blend-ZnO nanocomposites onto the Cu-Ni-Mo-based steel foam. A low-cost and easy-to-use dip-coating method was preferred to obtain uniform and high quality coating layers. With this approach, the nanocoatings were prepared at 25 °C and low contact time (≈10 min). X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and stereo microscope analysis methods were used to demonstrate surface and chemical properties of the tragacanth gum / chitosan blend encapsulated ZnO nanocomposites (TG/CH/ZnO NPs) coated Cu-Ni-Mo based steel foam. According to the SEM and stereo microscope images, the prepared 3D random shape with irregular ZnO NPs on the surface of the Cu-Ni-Mo based steel foam were formed. Furthermore, the mean surface roughness values of uncoated steel foam and TG/CH/ZnO NPs coated steel foam were measured as 4.48 µm and 4.61 µm, respectively. Additionally, the RGB pixel of the SEM micrograph of the coated steel foam was analyzed to investigate the effect of coating materials on the surface. Due to cost-efficient and green fabrication of the nanocoating, it has a significant potential to be a promising nanomaterial in biomedical applications.