Improvement in mechanical properties of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings by Al2O3 reinforcement

Thermal sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings suffer from poor mechanical properties like tensile strength, wear resistance, hardness, toughness and fatigue. The mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite coatings can be enhanced via incorporation of secondary bioinert reinforcement material. In this study an attempt has been made to improve the mechanical properties of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite by reinforcing it with 10, 20 and 30% Al2O3. The plasma sprayed coatings have been characterized using FE-SEM/EDAX, XRD, AFM and FTIR spectroscopy. Corrosion studies have been done in simulated body fluid and abrasive wear studies have been performed on flat specimens on a disk wear tester. Microhardness, tensile strength and wear resistance are found to be increased with increasing Al2O3 content. All types of coatings show superior resistance against corrosion in simulated body fluid. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.