Enhanced Corrosion Resistance of L۳۱۶ Stainless Steel Implants via Gradient Copper-Doped Diamond-Like Carbon Nanocomposite Coatings

Copper-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films can significantly enhance the corrosion resistance of L۳۱۶ stainless steel, a widely used material for biomedical implants. While previous studies have focused on uniform copper doping, this research investigates, for the first time, the impact of a gradient copper distribution within DLC coatings. Three types of coatings were prepared: a pure DLC coating, a homogeneously copper-doped DLC, and a DLC coating with a gradient copper concentration decreasing from the substrate toward the surface. Elemental mapping confirmed the success of the gradient distribution, and electrochemical analysis revealed that the gradient-doped coating provided the highest corrosion resistance, with up to ۳۲۲% improvement over the undoped DLC.

کلیدواژه ها:

Diamond-like carbon ، copper doping ، corrosion ، nanocomposite ، gradient coating