Micro-tribological Behavior of Electrophoretically Deposited HA-TiO2 Nanocomposite Coatings

In the present study, the HA-TiO2 nanostructured composite coatings with 0, 10 and 20 wt.% TiO2 were fabricated by electrophoretic deposition on Ti-6Al-4V substrate. Micro-scratch tests in progressive load mode, were examined for evaluation of adhesion strength, tribology and fracture toughness of coatings. The critical contact pressures in micro-scratch test for crack initiation and delamination were increased by the addition of TiO2 content in the coating. Moreover, according to the linear elastic fracture mechanics, the maximum fracture toughness of coatings was obtained for HA-20 wt.% TiO2 sample. The scratch grooves were studied by scanning electron microscope.