Titanium Plasma-Sprayed Coatings on Polymers for Hard Tissue Applications

The paper presents the results of titanium plasma spraying (TPS) on polymer substrates. Polyethylene (PE300), polyamide PA6, and fiber glass-reinforced polyamide (PA6.6-GF30) were used as substrates. The PE300 and PA6.6-GF30 substrates exhibited appropriate behavior during the TPS process, whereas the PA6 substrate did not “accept” Ti during plasma spraying, and the coating did not form. The TPS coatings exhibited low porosity and high homogeneity, and they had a typical multilayer structure composed of Ti and its oxides. The nanoindentation test showed good mechanical properties of the coatings and demonstrated a hardness and a Young’s modulus of approximately 400 HV and 200 GPa, respectively. The bending test confirmed the good adhesion of the titanium coatings to the polymer substrates. The Ti coatings did not fall off the substrate after its significant bending deformation.