Structural and electrochemical behaviour of sol-gel zirconia films on 316L stainless-steel in simulated body fluid environment

Sol-gel thin film offers a number of advantages that makes it an attractive method for obtaining ceramic coatings on metallic implants. In this study, the feasibility of using a polymeric sol-gel zirconia film on 316L SS substrate was evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization measurements to measure the corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid environment. Fairly uniform, dense and crack-free films were produced by dip-coating the 316L stainless-steel substrate in a precursor solution containing sonocatalysed zirconium propoxide and yttrium acetate, followed by firing at 600 degreesC in vacuum. The resultant films were characterized by thermal studies (TGA-DTA), XRD, FT-IR and polarization studies. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.