The journal Coatings is starting its activity as a peer-reviewed, open access journal. As editors, we believe that it will fulfill an important role in the community of researchers and developers in the field of coatings. There already exists several high quality journals dedicated to coatings, but none of them has “free access”, a characteristic that we believe is very important in a field which is traditionally very close to industrial activity and where researchers aim not only at academic research but toward products of an industrial and marketable value. For these researchers, it is important that they can publish their results in a journal that guarantees quality that comes from peer-review, but that at the same time breaks the traditional boundaries of academic journals which need a subscription or a pay-per-view option to access the published data. [...] Full article

CoNiCrAlY powders with similar granulometry and chemical composition, but different starting reactivity toward oxygen, were sprayed onto superalloy substrates by High Velocity Oxygen-Fuel producing coatings of similar thicknesses. After spraying, samples were maintained at 1,273 K in air for different test periods of up to 5,000 hours. Morphological, microstructural, compositional and electrochemical analyses were performed on the coated samples in order to assess the high temperature oxidation resistance provided by the two different powders. The powder with higher starting reactivity towards oxygen improves the oxidation resistance of the coated samples by producing thinner and more adherent thermally grown oxide layers. Full article

In this work High Velocity Oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray techniques, spraying process optimization, and characterization of coatings are reviewed. Different variants of the technology are described and the main differences in spray conditions in terms of particle kinetics and thermal energy are rationalized. Methods and tools for controlling the spray process are presented as well as their use in optimizing the coating process. It will be shown how the differences from the starting powder to the final coating formation affect the coating microstructure and performance. Typical properties of HVOF sprayed coatings and coating performance is described. Also development of testing methods used for the evaluation of coating properties and current status of standardization is presented. Short discussion of typical applications is done. Full article

Hydroxyapatite (HA) coating of hard tissue implants is widely employed for its biocompatible and osteoconductive properties as well as its improved mechanical properties. Plasma technology is the principal deposition process for coating HA on bioactive metals for this application. However, thermal decomposition of HA can occur during the plasma deposition process, resulting in coating variability in terms of purity, uniformity and crystallinity, which can lead to implant failure caused by aseptic loosening. In this study, CoBlast^TM, a novel blasting process has been used to successfully modify a titanium (V) substrate with a HA treatment using a dopant/abrasive regime. The impact of a series of apatitic abrasives under the trade name MCD, was investigated to determine the effect of abrasive particle size on the surface properties of both microblast (abrasive only) and CoBlast (HA/abrasive) treatments. The resultant HA treated substrates were compared to substrates treated with abrasive only (microblasted) and an untreated Ti. The HA powder, apatitic abrasives and the treated substrates were characterized for chemical composition, coating coverage, crystallinity and topography including surface roughness. The results show that the surface roughness of the HA blasted modification was affected by the particle size of the apatitic abrasives used. The CoBlast process did not alter the chemistry of the crystalline HA during deposition. Cell proliferation on the HA surface was also assessed, which demonstrated enhanced osteo-viability compared to the microblast and blank Ti. This study demonstrates the ability of the CoBlast process to deposit HA coatings with a range of surface properties onto Ti substrates. The ability of the CoBlast technology to offer diversity in modifying surface topography offers exciting new prospects in tailoring the properties of medical devices for applications ranging from dental to orthopedic settings. Full article

Niobium coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering were evaluated as a possible surface modification for stainless steel (SS) substrates in biomedical implants. The Nb coatings were deposited on 15 mm diameter stainless steel substrates having an average surface roughness of 2 mm. To evaluate the biocompatibility of the coatings three different in vitro tests, using human alveolar bone derived cells, were performed: cellular adhesion, proliferation and viability. Stainless steel substrates and tissue culture plastic were also studied, in order to give comparative information. No toxic response was observed for any of the surfaces, indicating that the Nb coatings act as a biocompatible, bioinert material. Cell morphology was also studied by immune-fluorescence and the results confirmed the healthy state of the cells on the Nb surface. X-ray diffraction analysis of the coating shows that the film is polycrystalline with a body centered cubic structure. The surface composition and corrosion resistance of both the substrate and the Nb coating were also studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and potentiodynamic tests. Water contact angle measurements showed that the Nb surface is more hydrophobic than the SS substrate. Full article