In this work, the thermal stability and the oxidation and tribological behavior of nanoporous a-BC:H films are studied and compared with those in conventional diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. a-BC:H films were deposited by pulsed plasma chemical vapor deposition using B(CH3)3 gas as the boron source. A DLC interlayer was used to prevent the a-BC:H film delamination produced by oxidation. Thermal stability of a-BC:H films, with no delamination signs after annealing at 500 °C for 1 h, is better than that of the DLC films, which completely disappeared under the same conditions. Tribological test results indicate that the a-BC:H films, even with lower nanoindentation hardness than the DLC films, show an excellent boundary oil lubricated behavior, with lower friction coefficient and reduce the wear rate of counter materials than those on the DLC film. The good materials properties such as low modulus of elasticity and the formation of micropores from the original nanopores during boundary regimes explain this better performance. Results show that porous a-BC:H films may be an alternative for segmented DLC films in applications where severe tribological conditions and complex shapes exist, so surface patterning is unfeasible.
Diamond-like carbon (DLC) material is used in blood contacting devices as the surface coating material because of the antithrombogenicity behavior which helps to inhibit platelet adhesion and activation. In this study, DLC films were doped with boron during pulsed plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to improve the blood compatibility. The ratio of boron to carbon (B/C) was varied from 0 to 0.4 in the film by adjusting the flow rate of trimethylboron and acetylene. Tribological tests indicated that boron doping with a low B/C ratio of 0.03 is beneficial for reducing friction (μ = 0.1), lowering hardness and slightly increasing wear rate compared to undoped DLC films. The B/C ratio in the film of 0.03 and 0.4 exhibited highly hydrophilic surface owing to their high wettability and high surface energy. An in vitro platelet adhesion experiment was conducted to compare the blood compatibility of TiNb substrates before and after coating with undoped and boron doped DLC. Films with highly hydrophilic surface enhanced the blood compatibility of TiNb, and the best results were obtained for DLC with the B/C ratio of 0.03. Boron doped DLC films are promising surface coatings for blood contacting devices.