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Improved adhesion of ultra-hard carbon films on cobalt–chromium orthopaedic implant alloy

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Abstract

While interfacial graphite formation and subsequent poor film adhesion is commonly reported for chemical vapor deposited hard carbon films on cobalt-based materials, we find the presence of O2 in the feedgas mixture to be useful in achieving adhesion on a CoCrMo alloy. Nucleation studies of surface structure before formation of fully coalesced hard carbon films reveal that O2 feedgas helps mask the catalytic effect of cobalt with carbon through early formation of chromium oxides and carbides. The chromium oxides, in particular, act as a diffusion barrier to cobalt, minimizing its migration to the surface where it would otherwise interact deleteriously with carbon to form graphite. When O2 is not used, graphitic soot forms and films delaminate readily upon cooling to room temperature. Continuous 1 μm-thick nanostructured carbon films grown with O2 remain adhered with measured hardness of 60 GPa and show stable, non-catastrophic circumferential micro-cracks near the edges of indent craters made using Rockwell indentation.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge support by Award Number R01AR056665 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases or the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank Smith & Nephew, Inc. for providing the CoCrMo disks used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), 310 Campbell Hall, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1170, USA

    Shane A. Catledge, Rishi Vaid, Patrick Diggins IV, Mark Koopman & Yogesh K. Vohra

  2. Chemistry/Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH), MSB 125, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA

    Jeffrey J. Weimer

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  1. Shane A. Catledge
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  2. Rishi Vaid
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Correspondence to Shane A. Catledge.

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Catledge, S.A., Vaid, R., Diggins, P. et al. Improved adhesion of ultra-hard carbon films on cobalt–chromium orthopaedic implant alloy. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 22, 307–316 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-010-4207-1

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