Investigation of the environmental, mechanical, and antibacterial properties of zirconia-based coatings

Zirconia (Zr) based coatings are desired coatings and considered to be very attractive to many engineering and medical applications. Their application are very wide but three of their mostly used are antibacterial applications, corrosion resistance, and hydrophobic surfaces. By nature, Zirconia is not antibacterial or hydrophobic, but they can be used with other alloying elements to develop the desired coating for each application. In this work, Several Zr-based coatings will be developed with varying mechanical, hydrophobic, and antibacterial characteristics. The coatings will be analyzed and compared in between them to study the effect of the coating process parameters, surface morphologies, and coating compositions on the mechanical and antibacterial behavior. The mechanical behavior includes the interfacial adhesion, hardness, scratch resistance, and hydrophobic behavior, which all will be performed at KFUPM. The antibacterial testing will be carried out at a microbiology lab at King Saud University. A life cycle assessment will be performed at the end, and a comprehensive analysis and comparison between the different Zr-based coatings will be presented as a guide or aid for designers and research when choosing the proper coating for the desired application.