Diamond-Like Carbon Depositing on the Surface of Polylactide Membrane for Prevention of Adhesion Formation During Tendon Repair

Post-traumatic peritendinous adhesion presents a significant challenge in clinical medicine.This study proposes the use of diamond-like carbon(DLC)deposited on polylactic acid(PLA)membranes as a biophysical mechanism for anti-adhesion barrier to encase ruptured tendons in tendon-injured rats.The results indicate that PLA/DLC composite membrane exhibits more efficient anti-adhesion effect than PLA membrane,with histological score decreasing from 3.12±0.27 to 2.20±0.22 and anti-adhesion effectiveness increasing from 21.61%to 44.72%.Mechanistically,the abundant C=O bond functional groups on the surface of DLC can reduce reactive oxygen species level effectively;thus,the phosphorylation of NF-κB and M1 polarization of macrophages are inhibited.Consequently,excessive inflammatory response augmented by M1 macrophage-originated cytokines including interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)is largely reduced.For biocompatibility evaluation,PLA/DLC membrane is slowly absorbed within tissue and displays prolonged barrier effects compared to traditional PLA membranes.Further studies show the DLC depositing decelerates the release of degradation product lactic acid and its induction of macrophage M2 polarization by interfering esterase and PLA ester bonds,which further delays the fibrosis process.It was found that the PLA/DLC membrane possess an efficient biophysical mechanism for treatment of peritendinous adhesion.

Effects of nitrogen content on structure and electrical properties of nitrogen-doped fluorinated diamond-like carbon films

Nitrogen-doped fluorinated diamond-like carbon(FN-DLC)films were prepared on single crystal silicon substrate by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition(RF-PECVD)under different deposited conditions with CF4,CH4 and nitrogen as source gases.The influence of nitrogen content on the structure and electrical properties of the films was studied.The films were investigated in terms of surface morphology,microstructure,chemical composition and electrical properties.Atomic force microscopy(AFM)results revealed that the surface morphology of the films became smooth due to doping nitrogen.Fourier transform infrared absorption spectrometry(FTIR)results showed that amouts of C=N and C≡N bonds increased gradually with increasing nitrogen partial pressure r(r=p(N2)/p(N2+CF4+CH4)).Gaussian fit results of C 1s and N 1s in X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS)showed that the incorporation of nitrogen presented mainly in the forms ofβ-C3N4 and a-CNx(x=1,2,3)in the films.The current-voltage(I-V)measurement results showed that the electrical conductivity of the films increased with increasing nitrogen content.

Lithium-ion and solvent co-intercalation enhancing the energy density of fluorinated graphene cathode

Fluorinated carbons CF_xhold the highest theoretical energy density(e.g.,2180 W h kg^(-1)when x=1)among all cathode materials of lithium primary batteries.However,the low conductivity and severe polarization limit it to achieve its theory.In this study,we design a new electrolyte,namely 1 M LiBF_(4)DMSO:DOL(1:9 vol.),achieving a high energy density in Li/CF_xprimary cells.The DMSO with a small molecular size and high donor number successfully solvates Li^(+)into a defined Li^(+)-solvation structure.Such solvated Li^(+)can intercalate into the large-spacing carbon layers and achieve an improved capacity.Consequently,when discharged to 1.0 V,the CF_(1.12)cathode demonstrates a specific capacity of 1944 m A h g^(-1)with a specific energy density of 3793 W h kg^(-1).This strategy demonstrates that designing the electrolyte is powerful in improving the electrochemical performance of CF_(x) cathode.

Fluorinated soft carbon as an ultra-high energy density potassium-ion battery cathode enabled by a ternary phase K_(x)FC

Fluorinated carbons(CFx)have been widely applied as lithium primary batteries due to their ultra-high energy density.It will be a great promise if CFx can be rechargeable.In this study,we rationally tune the C-F bond strength for the alkaline intercalated CFx via importing an electronegative weaker element K instead of Li.It forms a ternary phase K_(x)FC instead of two phases(LiF+C)in lithium-ion batteries.Meanwhile,we choose a large layer distance and more defects CFx,namely fluorinated soft carbon,to accommodate K.Thus,we enable CFx rechargeable as a potassium-ion battery cathode.In detail fluorinated soft carbon CF_(1.01) presents a reversible specific capacity of 339 mA h g^(-1)(797 Wh kg^(-1))in the 2nd cycle and maintains 330 mA h g^(-1)(726 Wh kg^(-1))in the 15th cycle.This study reveals the importance of tuning chemical bond stability using different alkaline ions to endow batteries with rechargeability.This work provides good references for focusing on developing reversible electrode materials from popular primary cell configurations.

Electron Injection Enhancement by Diamond-Like Carbon Film in Polymer Electroluminescence Devices

A diamond-like carbon （DLC） film is deposited as an electron injection layer between the polymer light-emitting layer（MEH-PPV） and aluminum （Al） cathode electrode in polymer electroluminescence devices （PLEDs） using a radio frequency plasma deposition system. The source material of the DLC is n-butylamine. The devices consist of indium tin oxide （ITO）/MEH-PPV/DLC/Al. Electron injection properties are investigated through I-V characteristics,and the mechanism of electron injection enhancement due to a thin DLC layer has been studied. It is found that： （1） a DLC layer thinner than 1.0nm leads to a higher turn-on voltage and decreased electroluminescent （EL） efficiency; （2） a 5.0nm DLC layer significantly enhances the electron injection and results in the lowest turn-on voltage and the highest EL efficiency; （3） DLC layer that exceeds 5.0nm results in poor device performance;and（4） EL emission can hardly be detected when the layer exceeds 10.0nm. The properties of ITO/MEH-PPV/DLC/Al and ITO/MEH-PPV/LiF/Al are investigated comparatively.

Micro/Nanomechanical and Tribological Properties of Thin Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings

The diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with different thicknesses on 9Crl8bearing steels were prepared using vacuum magnetic-filtering arc plasma deposition. Vickersindentation, nanoin-dentation and nanoscratch tests were used to characterize the DLC films with awide range of applied loads. Mechanical and tribological behaviors of these submicron films wereinvestigated and interpreted. The hardnesses of 9Cr18 and DLC. determined by nanoindentation, areapproximately 8GPa and 60GPa respectively; their elastic moduli are approximately 250GPa and 600GParespectively. The friction coefficients of 9Cr18, DLC, organic coating, determined by nanoscratch,are approximately 0. 35, 0. 20 and 0. 13 respectively. It is demonstrated that nanoindentation andnanoscratch tests can provide more information about the near-surface elastic-plastic deformation,friction and wear properties. The correlation of mechanical properties and scratch resistance of DLCfilms on 9Cr18 steels can provide an assessment for the load-carrying capacity and wear resistance.

Properties of polydimethylsiloxane hydrophobic modified duplex microarc oxidation/diamond-like carbon coatings on AZ31B Mg alloy

A reliable,high-performance coating procedure was developed using PDMS to modify a duplex MAO/DLC coating on an AZ31B Mg alloy.First,the duplex MAO/DLC coating was fabricated via a combined MAO and unbalanced magnetron sputter process.Subsequently,a PDMS solution was used to modify the MAO/DLC coating via a conventional dip-coating method.The surface characteristics,bond strength,hardness,tribological behaviour,and corrosion resistance of the coated samples were evaluated via SEM,CA,Raman spectroscopy,friction and wear behaviour,polarisation curve,and NSS tests.The PDMS modification reduced the HIT of MAO/DLC coating from 15.96 to 8.34GPa;this is ascribed to the penetration of PDMS,which has good rheological properties to form a viscoelastic Si-based organic polymer layer on the MAO/DLC coating.However,the PDMS-modified MAO/DLC coating was denser,hydrophobic,and had higher bond strength compared with MAO-and MAO/DLC-coated samples.Moreover,the PDMS modification reduced the COF and wear rate of the duplex MAO/DLC coating.This indicates that the PDMS improved the tribological behaviour owing to the transferred Si oxide that originated from the Si-O network of the PDMS,as well as the low graphitisation of the DLC layer during sliding.Furthermore,the corrosion current density of the MAO/DLC-coated sample modified by PDMS for 10min decreased by two order of magnitude compared with that of the MAO/DLC-coated sample but by five orders of magnitude compared with that of the bare substrate.The NSS tests proved that the PDMS layer slowed the corrosion of the Mg alloy under long-term service,enhancing the corrosion protection efficiency.The results are attributed to the high bond strength and lubricant MAO/DLC layer,and the dual role of sealing and hydrophobicity of PDMS.Therefore,PDMS modification is promising for the fabrication of protective materials for Mg alloys that require corrosion and wear resistance.

Corrosion performance and tribological behavior of diamond-like carbon based coating applied on Ni−Al−bronze alloy

The effect of diamond-like carbon(DLC)coating(fabricated by cathodic arc deposition)on mechanical properties,tribological behavior and corrosion performance of the Ni−Al−bronze(NAB)alloy was investigated.Nano-hardness and pin-on-plate test showed that DLC coating had a greater hardness compared with NAB alloy.Besides,the decrease in friction coefficient from 0.2 for NAB substrate to 0.13 for the DLC-coated sample was observed.Potentiodynamic polarization and EIS results showed that the corrosion current density decreased from 2.5μA/cm2 for bare NAB alloy to 0.14μA/cm2 for DLC-coated sample in 3.5 wt.%NaCl solution.Moreover,the charge transfer resistance at the substrate−electrolyte interface increased from 3.3 kΩ·cm2 for NAB alloy to 120.8 kΩ·cm2 for DLC-coated alloy,which indicated an increase in corrosion resistance due to the DLC coating.

Preparation of Diamond-like Carbon Films on the Surface of Ti Alloy by Electro-deposition

In this paper, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Ti alloy by electro-deposition. DLC films were brown andcomposed of the compact grains whose diameter was about 400 nm. Examined by XPS, the main composition of the filmswas carbon. In the Raman spectrum, there were a broad peak at 1350 cm^(-1) and a broad peak at 1600 cm^(-1), which indicatedthat the films were DLC films.

Effect of N-ion implantation and diamond-like carbon coating on fretting wear behaviors of Ti6Al7Nb in artificial saliva

The tribology behaviors of Ti6Al7Nb,its alloy with N-ion implantation,and its alloy with diamond-like carbon(DLC)coating were investigated in artificial saliva.Fretting wear tests of untreated,N-ion implanted and DLC coated Ti6Al7Nb alloys plate against a Si3N4ball were carried out on a reciprocating sliding fretting wear test rig.Based on the analysis of X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,3-D profiler,SEM morphologies and frictional kinetics behavior analysis,the damage behavior of surface modification layer was discussed in detail.The results indicated that the fretting wear behavior of Ti6Al7Nb alloy with N-ion implantation was increased with the dose increase of the implanted nitrogen ions.Moreover,the DLC-coated Ti6Al7Nb alloy with low ion implantation could improve the fretting wear behavior greatly.In addition,the Ti6Al7Nb with DLC coating had better ncorrosion resistance due to the special compact structure.All results suggested that the Ti6Al7Nb with DLC coating had better wear resistance than that with N-ion implantation in artificial saliva.

Studies of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited on stainless steel substrate with Si/SiC intermediate layers

In this work, diamond-like carbon （DLC） films were deposited on stainless steel substrates with Si/SiC intermediate layers by combining plasma enhanced sputtering physical vapour deposition （PEUMS-PVD） and microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition （MW-ECRPECVD） techniques. The influence of substrate negative self-bias voltage and Si target power on the structure and nano-mechanical behaviour of the DLC films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, nano-indentation, and the film structural morphology by atomic force microscopy （AFM）. With the increase of deposition bias voltage, the G band shifted to higher wave-number and the integrated intensity ratio ID/IG increased. We considered these as evidences for the development of graphitization in the films. As the substrate negative self-bias voltage increased, particle bombardment function was enhanced and the sp^3-bond carbon density reducing, resulted in the peak values of hardness （H） and elastic modulus （E）. Silicon addition promoted the formation of sp^3 bonding and reduced the hardness. The incorporated Si atoms substituted sp^2- bond carbon atoms in ring structures, which promoted the formation of sp^3-bond. The structural transition from C-C to C-Si bonds resulted in relaxation of the residual stress which led to the decrease of internal stress and hardness. The results of AFM indicated that the films was dense and homogeneous, the roughness of the films was decreased due to the increase of substrate negative self-bias voltage and the Si target power.

Deposition of Diamond-Like Carbon on Inner Surface by Hollow Cathode Discharge

A cylindrical hollow cathode discharge （HCD） in CH4/Ar gas mixture at pressure of 20-30 Pa was used to deposit diamond-like carbon （DLC） films on the inner surface of a stainless steel tube. The characteristics of the HCD including the voltage-current curves, the plasma im- ages and the optical emission spectrum （OES） were measured in Ar and CHn/Ar mixtures. The properties of DLC films prepared under different conditions were analyzed by means of Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results show that the electron exci- tation temperature of HCD plasma is about 2400 K. DLC films can be deposited on the inner surface of tubes. The ratio of sp3/sp2 bonds decreases with the applied voltage and the deposition time. The optimizing CH4 content was found to be around CH4/Ar =1/5 for good quality of DLC films in the present system.

Tribological properties of diamond-like carbon films deposited bv pulsed laser arc deposition

A novel method, pulsed laser arc deposition combining the advantages of pulsed laser deposition and cathode vacuum arc techniques, was used to deposit the diamond-like carbon （DLC） nanofilms with different thicknesses. Spectroscopic ellipsometer, Auger electron spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and multi-functional friction and wear tester were employed to investigate the physical and tribological properties of the deposited films. The results show that the deposited films are amorphous and the sp2, sp3 and C-O bonds at the top surface of the films are identified. The Raman peak intensity and surface roughness increase with increasing film thickness. Friction coefficients are about 0.1, 0.15, 0.18, when the film thicknesses are in the range of 17-21 nm, 30-57 nm, 67-123 nm, respectively. This is attributed to the united effects of substrate and surface roughness. The wear mechanism of DLC films is mainly abrasive wear when film thickness is in the range of 17-41 nm, while it transforms to abrasive and adhesive wear, when the film thickness lies between 72 and 123 nm.

SELF-ASSEMBLED MICRO-DOMAINS ON THE UPPERMOST SURFACE OF FLUORINATED POLY(CARBONATE URETHANE)S WITH FLUORINATED SIDE CHAIN ATTACHED ON HARD SEGMENTS

The surface phase separated structure of polyurethanes is always desired due to the advantage of better biocompatibility, compared with the homogeneous one. The key issue is how to control and characterize the surface morphology. In this work, we report the uppermost surface morphology of fluorinated poly(carbonate urethane)s with fluorinated side chains attached to hard segments as studied by AFM, XPS and contact angle measurement. A self-assembled micro-domain with the fluorinated side chain standing up on the uppermost surface has been proposed for polyurethane with higher fluorinated content, based on the result obtained.

Influence of Microwave Power on the Properties of Hydrogenated Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by ECR Plasma Enhanced DC Magnetron Sputtering

Electron cyclotron resonance （ECR） plasma was applied to enhance the direct current magnetron sputtering to prepare hydrogenated diamond-like carbon （H-DLC） films. For different microwave powers, both argon and hydrogen gas are introduced separately as the ECR working gas to investigate the influence of microwave power on the microstructure and electrical property of the H-DLC films deposited on P-type silicon substrates. A series of characterization methods including the Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy are used. Results show that, within a certain range, the increase in microwave power affects the properties of the thin films, namely the sp3 ratio, the hardness, the nanoparticle size and the resistivity all increase while the roughness decreases with the increase in microwave power. The maximum of resistivity amounts to 1.1×10^9 Ω.cm. At the same time it is found that the influence of microwave power on the properties of H-DLC films is more pronounced when argon gas is applied as the ECR working gas, compared to hydrogen gas.

Structures of Diamond-Like Carbon Films

The structures of diamond-like carbon （DLC） films, including a-C：H, a-C, ta-C：H and ta-C films have been investigated as a random covalent network with a dense film structure. The results show that sp2 C in a-C：H and a-C films tends to form olefinic and aromatic groups while sp^3 C in ta-C：H and ta-C films tends to form single or multiple sixfold groups. The hydrogen atoms in hydrogenated DLC films contribute to stabilizing the carbon skeletal networks. The film structures are well related to their properties such as optical gaps, density and hardness. The results also indicate that the high density and the extreme hardness of ta-C films are attributed to the forming of large sp^3 C bonded sixfold groups.

Structure and Mechanical Performance of Nitrogen Doped Diamond-like Carbon Films

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon （DLC：N） films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition （ECR-CVD） on polycrystalline Si chips. Film thickness is about 50 nm. Auger electron spectroscopy （AES） was used to evaluate nitrogen content, and increasing N2 flow improved N content from 0 to 7.6%. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） analysis results reveal CN-sp^3C and N-sp^2C structure. With increasing the N2 flow, sp^3C decreases from 73.74% down to 42.66%, and so does N-sp^3C from 68.04% down to 20.23%. The hardness decreases from 29.18 GPa down to 19.74 GPa, and the Young＇s modulus from 193.03 GPa down to 144.52 GPa.

Fabrication of Diamond-like Carbon Films by Ion Assisted Middle Frequency Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films are deposited by the Hall ion source assisted by the mid-frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of the substrate voltage bias, the substrate temperature, the Hall discharging current and the argon/nitrogen ratio on the DLC film＇s performance were studied. The experimental results show that the film＇s surface roughness, the hardness and the Young＇s modulus increase firstly and then decrease with the bias voltage incrementally increases. Also when the substrate temperature rises, the surface roughness of the film varies slightly, but its hardness and Young＇s modulus firstly increase followed by a sharp decrease when the temperature surpassing 120 ℃. With the Hall discharging current incrementally rising, the hardness and Young＇s modulus of the film decrease and the surface roughness of the film on 316L stainless steel firstly decreased and then remains constant.

Improvement of Thermal Stability and Tribological Performance of Diamond-Like Carbon Composite Thin Films

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable amorphous film that exhibits unique properties. However, many limitations exist regarding the use of DLC, for example, its tribological characteristics at high temperature, as well as its limited thermal stability. In this study, silicon/oxygen and silicon/nitrogen co-incorporated diamond-like carbon (Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC) films are studied, taking into account the thermal stability and tribological performance of these films compared with pure DLC. All the films were prepared on Si wafers, WC-Co materials, and aluminum foils using a plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) technique using acetylene (C2H2), tetramethylsilane (TMS, Si(CH3)4), oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2) as plasma sources. The structure of the films was characterized using Raman spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the films was measured using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The friction coefficient of the films was assessed using ball-on-disk friction testing. The results indicate that Si-N-DLC films present better thermal stability due to the presence of Si-O networks in the films. The Si-N-DLC (23 at.%Si, 8 at.%N) film was affected using thermal annealing in an air atmosphere with increasing temperature until 500°C. The film can also resist thermal shock by cycling 10 times between the various temperatures and air atmosphere until 500°C. Further, Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC films exhibit excellent tribological performance, especially the Si-N-DLC (23 at.%Si, 8 at.%N) film, which exhibits excellent tribological performance at 500°C in an air atmosphere. It is concluded that Si-O-DLC and Si-N-DLC films improve upon the thermal stability and tribological performance of DLC.

Influence of nitrogen doping on thermal stability of fluorinated amorphous carbon thin films

Nitrogen doping fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C∶F) films were deposited using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) and annealed in Ar environment in order to investigate their thermal stability. Surface morphology and the thickness of the films before and after annealing were characterized by AFM and ellipsometer. Raman spectra and FTIR were used to analyze the chemical structure of the films. The results show that the surface of the films becomes more homogeneous either by the addition of N2 or after annealing. Deposition rate of the films increases a little at first and then decreases sharply with the increase of N2 source gas flux. It is also found that the fraction of aromatic rings structure increases and the thermal stability of the films is strengthened with the increase of N2 flux. Nitrogen doping is a feasible approach to improve the thermal stability of a-C∶F films.