PSI - Issue 50

E.G. Zemtsova et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 50 (2023) 307–313 Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2019) 000 – 000

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SEM does not allow us to unambiguously assess the phase composition of TiO2 film. To analyze the phase composition of the synthesized xerogel oxide film, XRD was used. The XRD pattern of the resulting coating shows no anatase and rutile reflections, which indicates the X-ray amorphousness of the deposited TiO 2 film. However, during long-term annealing of a substrate with applied TiO 2 at 400°C, the amorphous film partially transforms into a polycrystalline one. Anatase reflections are found after 60 min calcination. 3.2. Investigation of TiO 2 /Ag composite coating According to the procedure described in section 2.2, a TiO 2 /Ag composite coating was obtained by electrochemical template synthesis using a TiO 2 layer with island perforations as a template. When pulsed current is used, Ag is deposited on a Ti substrate, repeating the geometry of island perforations formed by an oxide film. Ag deposit clearly reproduces the structure of the TiO 2 coating (Fig.3). Cracks emanating from micron pores are also filled with Ag particles. Also, the TiO 2 /Ag composite was studied by X-ray spectral microanalysis with an electron probe using an X-ray microanalysis attachment to a scanning electron microscope. Ti and Ag elemental maps (Fig. 3b) show that Ag is predominantly deposited in the TiO 2 film perforations, repeating its geometry. This indicates the successful template electrochemical synthesis of the Ag coating.

Fig. 3. (a) Micrograph of the TiO 2 /Ag composite. (b) Elemental maps of the TiO 2 /Ag composite.

3.3. Tests of TiO 2 /Ag composite coated samples for antibacterial activity and cytological examination of samples. The evaluation of the adhesion properties of osteoblast cells (young cells synthesizing the material of fibers and the main substance of bone tissue) of the MC3T3-E1 line and the formation of a cell monolayer on experimental samples was analyzed using SEM. The studies were carried out at the Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg). Based on the obtained micrographs, it can be concluded that the sample with the applied composite coating is characterized not only by high adhesive properties, but also by the ability to develop a continuous cell layer, which indicates the possibility of accelerated osteosynthesis on such a surface. This is explained by the presence of a two-level structure hierarchy formed by micron islands of the composite coating and