Adhesion and wear study on 316L steel coated with titanium nitride by PVD

The AISI 316L steel is a material used to manufacture prostheses and medical instruments due to its high corrosion resistance. However, its wear resistance is low, but it can be improved by synthesizing thin films of titanium nitride (TiN) on the surface. This compound is a hard material that improves its tribological and corrosive properties, in addition to presenting good adhesion to the substrate. In this work, a Ti/TiN thin film was obtained using the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technique. This coating was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), and light microscopy; additionally, tribological tests under wet conditions and adhesion tests were conducted. The coating showed good adhesion to the substrate according to the VDI standard. In tribological tests, a low coefficient of friction vs. a polyethylene pin in a wet environment (bovine serum) was obtained. The EDS showed a high concentration of Ti and N on the substrate even after wear tests.