Hydrophobic Property of Hydrogen-Free Ti-DLC Films

Abstract:

Ti-containing diamond-like carbon (Ti-DLC) films were deposited on Ti6Al4V substrate by a hybrid deposition system of MEVVA ion source and magnetron sputtering. The influence of Ti contents on the hydrophobic property of DLC films was investigated. The composition, bonding structure and surface morphology of the films were characterized by EDS, XPS and AFM, respectively. The wettability of the films was examined by the contact angle measurement. The surface energy including the dispersive and polar components was evaluated using two types of liquid with different polarity. The results show that the hydrophobicity of Ti-doped DLC films is obviously improved, whose water-contact angle increases to 105° from 68.5°. The main reason for the hydrophobicity improving may be that the surface energy of the Ti-doped DLC film is decreased by higher sp2-bonded carbon configuration and the formation of Ti-O bond