Tuning the Mechanical and Antimicrobial Performance of a Cu-Based Metallic Glass Composite through Cooling Rate Control and Annealing
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Microstructure
3.2. Scratch Tests
3.2.1. CH 2 and NCH 2 Samples
3.2.2. CH 3 and NCH 3 Samples
3.2.3. Annealed and Pure Copper Samples
3.3. Wettability and Antimicrobial Tests
4. Conclusions
- For Cu52Z41Al7 alloy composition, a decrease of the cooling rate from the melt results in an increase in the wear resistance, linked to the embrittlement of the samples, as deduced from the scratch tests. This is revealed in the lower pile-up, higher groove, prone adhesion wear and increase in scratch hardness from 1.29 GPa for sample CH 2 mm to 1.45 GPa for sample NCH 3 mm.
- The sessile drop test shows an increase in contact angle as the microstructure gets more crystalline. As a result, adhesion of bacteria is less likely to occur in higher crystalline composites.
- The cooling system that keeps the mould cold (chiller on: 10 °C and off: 20 °C) upon suction casting has little effect on the microstructure and therefore on the alloy performance compared to the effect of the mould cavity diameter. The effect of using the chiller is practically negligible for the 2 mm diameter samples and becomes slightly larger for the 3 mm diameter samples.
- Rapid solidification has been proven to be an efficient technique to tune the properties of the Cu-Zr-Al system upon cooling. The rapid quenched Cu52Z41Al7 alloy can be used as a precursor to tune the microstructure upon annealing (i.e., 850 °C for 48 h) and reach an antimicrobial performance beyond the threshold provided by the American protocol (i.e., the alloy is made antimicrobial). Annealing the alloy also enables us o improve the wear resistance by increasing the scratch hardness from 1.45 to 1.99 GPa.
- The crystalline sample obtained by annealing at 850 °C for 48 h exhibits the best performance in terms of antimicrobial behaviour and wear resistance (i.e. scratch hardness of 1.99 ± 0.03 GPa). However, the sample corrodes very easily and breaks into small pieces after only one hour of inoculation in sterile LB broth due to the large number of grain boundaries and the nature of the crystalline phases.
- The 3 mm diameter Cu sample exhibits a scratch hardness value of 0.4 GPa, more than three times lower than that of the 3 mm NCH metallic glass composite. Therefore, depending on the application (antimicrobial medical devices, touch surfaces, etc.), a compromise between durability and antimicrobial performance is needed and a composite might be preferred over pure copper.
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
References
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Element | 1a matrix | 1b matrix | 1c matrix | 1d matrix | 2a Dendrites I | 2b Dendrites I | 2c Dendrites I | 2d Dendrites I | 3c Dendrites II | 3d Dendrites II | 1e matrix | 2e Geometric Particles | 3e Dendrites | 4e Clear Matrix |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cu | 51.2 ± 0.2 | 51.1 ± 0.4 | 52.1 ± 0.4 | 52.5 ± 0.6 | 43.3 ± 3.0 | 45.6 ± 0.8 | 45.6 ± 1.0 | 45.9 ± 1.5 | 37.7 ± 0.1 | 37.3 ± 1.3 | 54.9 ± 1.0 | 54.8 ± 1.3 | 36.7 ± 1.5 | 46.8 ± 0.7 |
Zr | 43.2 ± 3.3 | 42.6 ± 0.2 | 42.1 ± 1.9 | 40.4 ± 0.5 | 44.9 ± 1.8 | 43.6 ± 1.8 | 43.0 ± 0.7 | 43.0 ± 1.2 | 48.3 ± 0.2 | 49.4 ± 1.0 | 43.3 ± 0.9 | 28.5 ± 1.7 | 49.6 ± 0.9 | 51.1 ± 0.5 |
Al | 6.8 ± 0.2 | 6.3 ± 0.4 | 5.85 ± 1.7 | 7.15 ± 0.7 | 11.9 ± 1.4 | 10.7 ± 1.2 | 11.4 ± 0.7 | 11.1 ± 0.7 | 13.9 ± 0.2 | 13.46 ± 0.5 | 1.9 ± 0.3 | 16.7 ± 1.2 | 13.8 ± 1.6 | 2.2 ± 0.6 |
Phase | Nominal comp. | Nominal comp. | Nominal comp. | Nominal comp. | CuZr | CuZr | CuZr | CuZr | CuZr2 | CuZr2 | Cu10Zr7 | Cu2ZrAl | CuZr2 | CuZr |
Sample | Pile-Up (µm) | Centre (µm) | Maximum (µm) | Groove Area/ Pile-Up Area | Scratch Width (µm) | Scratch Hardness Number (GPa) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CH 2 mm | 5.05 ± 1.92 | 15.70 ± 1.22 | 20.79 ± 1.41 | 10.05 ± 3.87 | 243.16 ± 2.36 | 1.29 ± 0.02 |
NCH 2 mm | 3.71 ± 1.58 | 17.46 ± 0.85 | 21.82 ± 1.45 | 14.51 ± 5.87 | 241.25 ± 2.23 | 1.31 ± 0.02 |
CH 3 mm | 2.78 ± 1.09 | 17.48 ± 1.79 | 19.82 ± 2.22 | 17.20 ± 3.72 | 240.30 ± 2.98 | 1.32 ± 0.03 |
NCH 3 mm | 2.63 ± 1.51 | 21.92 ± 1.83 | 26.51 ± 2.42 | 31.83 ± 5.90 | 229.44 ± 5.99 | 1.45 ± 0.08 |
850 °C 48 h | 2.90 ± 1.31 | 17.47 ± 1.13 | 20.74 ± 1.22 | 13.97 ± 6.75 | 196.08 ± 1.57 | 1.99 ± 0.03 |
Copper | 40.91 ± 12.08 | 61.93 ± 3.97 | 66.34 ± 2.92 | 2.97 ± 0.88 | 426.54 ± 3.61 | 0.42 ± 0.01 |
Sample | Parameter | 1 h | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CH 2 mm | Ui | 8.58 | 8.57 | 8.59 | 8.68 |
Ai | 8.21 | 8.12 | 7.92 | 7.71 | |
R | 0.38 | 0.46 | 0.67 | 0.97 | |
NCH 3 mm | Ui | 8.58 | 8.57 | 8.59 | 8.68 |
Ai | 8.20 | 8.11 | 7.19 | 6.16 | |
R | 0.38 | 0.46 | 1.40 | 2.51 |
Sample | Parameter | 1 h | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CH 2 mm | a (control) | 2.62 × 108 | 3.14 × 108 | 3.25 × 108 | 4.60 × 108 |
b | 1.61 × 108 | 1.74 × 108 | 2.24 × 107 | 2.68 × 107 | |
% reduction | 38.73% | 44.57% | 93.09% | 94.18% | |
NCH 3 mm | a (control) | 2.62 × 108 | 3.14 × 108 | 3.25 × 108 | 4.60 × 108 |
b | 1.59 × 108 | 1.78 × 108 | 9.44 × 105 | 4.23 × 105 | |
% reduction | 39.52% | 43.22% | 99.71% | 99.91% |
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Villapún, V.M.; Esat, F.; Bull, S.; Dover, L.G.; González, S. Tuning the Mechanical and Antimicrobial Performance of a Cu-Based Metallic Glass Composite through Cooling Rate Control and Annealing. Materials 2017, 10, 506. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10050506
Villapún VM, Esat F, Bull S, Dover LG, González S. Tuning the Mechanical and Antimicrobial Performance of a Cu-Based Metallic Glass Composite through Cooling Rate Control and Annealing. Materials. 2017; 10(5):506. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10050506
Chicago/Turabian StyleVillapún, Victor M., F. Esat, S. Bull, L.G. Dover, and S. González. 2017. "Tuning the Mechanical and Antimicrobial Performance of a Cu-Based Metallic Glass Composite through Cooling Rate Control and Annealing" Materials 10, no. 5: 506. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10050506