Preparation of Ag-Cu coating by Ti6Al4V magnetron sputtering and its antibacterial properties

Titanium alloys are widely used as implants in the medical field, but they do not have antimicrobial properties and are susceptible to bacterial infections in humans. With the increasing demand for antimicrobial properties in medical materials, there is an urgent need to conduct research on the antimicrobial properties of titanium alloys to expand their applications. In order to improve the antimicrobial properties of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, Ag and Ag-Cu coatings were prepared on the surface of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V using magnetron sputtering technology to optimize the process parameters, and the surface morphology, microstructure, and chemical composition distribution of the coatings were studied by means of metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy spectrum analysis (EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and other characterization methods. The surface morphology, microstructure, chemical composition distribution and other properties of the coatings were investigated; the antibacterial properties of the coatings were tested by in vitro antibacterial activity test. The results show that the sputter-deposited Ag and Ag-Cu coatings have 99.99% inhibition of escherichia coli and ttaphylococcus aureus. The Ag⁺ and Cu²⁺ precipitated from the coatings played an antibacterial role, the Ag and Ti particles underwent photocatalysis, which produced the antibacterial effect.