Electrochemically assisted co-deposition of calcium phosphate/collagen coatings on carbon/carbon composites

Calcium phosphate (CaP)/collagen coatings were prepared on the surface of carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by electrochemically assisted co-deposition technique. The effects of collagen concentration in the electrolyte on morphology, structure and composition of the coatings were systematically investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adhesive strength of the coatings was also evaluated by scratch tests and tensile bond tests. It was demonstrated that the coatings of three-dimensional collagen network structure was formed on the C/C composites from the electrolyte containing collagen. The surface of the collagen network was covered by uniform CaP aggregates. The coatings were actually composites of CaP and collagen. Hydroxyapatite (HA) was a favorable composition in the coatings with the increase of the collagen concentration in the electrolyte. The formed collagen network increased the cohesive and adhesive strength of the coatings. The adhesive strength between the coatings and substrates increased as the collagen concentration in the electrolyte increased. The coatings prepared at the collagen concentration of 500 mg/L in the electrolyte were not scraped off until the applied load reached 32.0 ± 2.2 N and the average tensile adhesive strength of the coatings was 4.83 ± 0.71 MPa. After C/C coated with composite coatings (500 mg/L) being immersed in a 10 ^-3 M Ca (OH) ₂ solution at 30-33 °C for 96 h, nano-structured HA/collagen coatings similar to the natural human bone were obtained on the C/C.