Evaluation of a variety of a-C:H coatings on PEEK for biomedical implants

Four different hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) coatings were deposited on poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK). Their properties in terms of surface roughness, wettability, nanoindentation, residual internal stress, adhesion, scratch resistance, friction and wear resistance were assessed. The two polymer-like carbon coatings were obtained without applying any bias voltage to the substrate. They exhibited very low hardness, Young's modulus and residual internal stress compared with what is generally achieved for diamond-like carbon films. Nonetheless, they enabled to significantly reduce wear when rubbed against an alumina ball. They also showed a very good adhesion to the PEEK substrate and a reduction of the coefficient of friction compared with that of the PEEK substrate. When the titanium layer deposited on the PEEK substrate was biased at either −50V or −100V during the deposition of the a-C:H coatings, the a-C:H coatings were harder, stiffer and more internally stressed than the two polymer-like carbon coatings. However, the a-C:H films obtained with bias voltages of −50V and −100V suffered from adhesive fracture in pull-off testing and early delamination in tribological testing. These results were assumed to be due to a titanium oxide layer which was not properly removed prior to the deposition of the hydrogenated amorphous carbon films and to the higher residual internal stress of the a-C:H films obtained with bias voltages of −50V and −100V compared with the two polymer-like films. •Four a-C:H coatings deposited on PEEK by PECVD were investigated.•Their physico-chemical, mechanical and tribological properties were evaluated.•The two a-C:H coatings obtained with biasing showed poor adhesion.•The two polymer-like coatings showed excellent adhesion to the PEEK substrate.•The two polymer-like coatings also showed enhanced tribological behavior.