Electrochemical and in vitro behaviour of sol-gel coated 316L stainless steel

The corrosion resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel for biomedical applications, was significantly enhanced by means of inorganic and hybrid SiO2 sol-gel coatings deposited by dip-coating. Coatings of 0.5-1.1 mum with different hybrid character were obtained by varying the temperature of thermal treatment from 400 to 550 degreesC. The pitting potential is increased up to I V and the current intensities were reduced up to 10(-8) A/cm(2). After one month of immersion in simulated body fluids, all the coatings showed a high degree of corrosion resistance and integrity, being slightly better the behaviour of the hybrid coatings. Not any bioactivity signal was observed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.