Suspension plasma sprayed copper-graphene coatings for improved antibacterial properties

Copper has a long history of use as a biocidal agent. Recent studies have demonstrated that incorporating graphene into copper coatings improves their antibacterial properties. However, the implementation of coppergraphene composite coatings is currently limited by the cost and scarcity of copper, as well as the difficulty of achieving a homogeneous distribution of graphene within the copper matrix. In this study, a new approach was developed to utilize an inductively-coupled radio frequency plasma torch to spray a uniform composite coating of copper nanoparticles and graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) onto a metal substrate. The resulting composite coatings exhibit microstructural uniformity, coating splats cohesion, and GNFs retention and dispersion within the Cu matrix. Furthermore, the Cu-GNFs coatings demonstrated strong antibacterial properties, with a 99% reduction of Escherichia coli bacteria within 1 h.

Automated summary

A new method was developed to spray a uniform composite coating of copper nanoparticles and graphene nanoflakes onto a metal substrate using an inductively-coupled radio frequency plasma torch. The resulting coatings exhibited microstructural uniformity, strong coating splats cohesion, and good retention and dispersion of graphene nanoflakes within the copper matrix. Moreover, the copper-graphene composite coatings showed strong antibacterial properties, achieving a 99% reduction of Escherichia coli bacteria within 1 hour.