LAUSR

Abstract CoCrMo alloy is one of the leading joint replacement biomaterials. However, the wear and corrosion of CoCrMo alloys may release metal ions into the physiological environment and cause failure of the joint implant surgery. In this work, a Cr-doping graphite-like carbon (Cr-GLC) nanocomposite film is coated on the wrought CoCrMo alloy to improve its biotribological properties and corrosion resistance, which can prolong the implant lifespan. Experimental results show that the CoCrMo alloy coated with the Cr-GLC nanocomposite film exhibits a nanocrystalline/amorphous microstructure, which owns excellent mechanical properties and wettability. Moreover, its biotribological properties are found to be 5 times better than those of CoCrMo substrates, due to high hardness of amorphous carbon film and strengthening of Cr7C3 nanoparticles and the corrosion resistance is also improved with two orders of magnitude in the simulated body fluid condition, due to chemical inertness of Cr-GLC nanocomposite films. Thus, it is suggested that CoCrMo alloy coated by the Cr-GLC nanocomposite film is a good candidate for joint replacement applications.