Sol-gel derived porous zirconium dioxide coated on 316L SS for orthopedic applications

The zirconia ceramics offers the required biocompatibility and corrosion resistance in the physiological medium, making it applicable for biomaterials. But, adequate utilization of porous zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) thin film has not been assessed. Hence, in the present work an attempt has been made to utilize the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility property of porous ZrO2. The ZrO2 were prepared using the sol-gel process and coated on 316L SS substrate via dip-coating technique. The phase composition, morphology and the elemental distribution of the coatings were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The results revealed that the coated surface was porous, uniform and relatively well crystalline on the substrate. In vitro evaluation of the ZrO2 coated 316L SS samples were carried out in simulated body fluid and the corrosion resistance of the ZrO2 coated samples were examined using potentiodynamic cyclic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in simulated body fluid.