Comparison of the tribological and antimicrobial properties of CrN/Ag, ZrN/Ag, TiN/Ag, and TiN/Cu nanocomposite coatings

Nanocomposite coatings including CrN/Ag, ZrN/Ag, TiN/Ag and TiN/Cu with varying silver or copper contents were produced by co-deposition in a dual pulsed magnetron sputtering system. The compositions and structures of the coatings were characterised using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the physical and tribological properties were assessed by means of nanoindentation and thrust washer wear testing. Although increasing silver or copper content provided a reduction in the coefficient of friction, this was accompanied by reductions in hardness for all the coatings and wear resistance for some of the coatings. Zones of inhibition were used to determine the extent of silver ion release from the coating surfaces, and a NBT (nitro-blue tetrazolium) redox dye was used to determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of the coatings following incubation. The microorganisms tested were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. For the NBT assays, significant reductions in the number of viable cells were observed with increasing Ag or Cu content, compared to the ‘pure’ nitride surfaces. Whilst no zones of inhibition were observed for S. aureus, on any of the surfaces, the diameter of the ‘kill’ zones generally increased with increasing silver content for P. aeruginosa.