Graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite composite coatings fabricated by electrochemical deposition

As novel nanomaterials, graphene and its derivations have been applied into hydroxyapatite as reinforcements for biomedical applications. However, graphene/hydroxyapatite composites serving as implant coating have rarely been studied. In this study, graphene oxide (GO)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite coatings have been firstly fabricated by electrochemical deposition technique on titanium (Ti) substrate. Then, the microstructure, phase constituents, bonding strength and in vitro cellular responses of composite coatings were researched. Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy corroborated that graphene oxide was successfully incorporated into the composite coatings. Results revealed that addition of GO have enhanced both the crystallinity of deposited apatite particles and the bonding strength of the as-synthesized composite coatings. Moreover, in vitro cell culture assessment showed better biocompatibility of composite coatings compared with the pure HA coating and pure Ti substrate. These results suggested that GO/HA composite coatings might be a promising candidate in the field of biomaterials, especially for implant coatings. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.