Materials · 2021 · 14 citations · 35 references
In this work, Cu-Sn-TiO<sub>2</sub> composite coatings were electrochemically obtained from a sulfate bath containing 0-10 g/L of TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles. The effect of TiO<sub>2</sub> particles on kinetics of cathodic electrodeposition has been studied by linear sweep voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. As compared to the Cu-Sn alloy, the Cu-Sn-TiO<sub>2</sub> composite coatings show rougher surfaces with TiO<sub>2</sub> agglomerates embedded in the metal matrix. The highest average amount of included TiO<sub>2</sub> is 1.7 wt.%, in the case of the bath containing 5 g/L thereof. Composite coatings showed significantly improved antibacterial properties towards <i>E. coli</i> ATCC 8739 bacteria as compared to the Cu-Sn coatings of the same composition. Such improvement has been connected with the corrosion resistance of the composites studied by linear polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In the bacterial media and 3% NaCl solutions, Cu-Sn-TiO<sub>2</sub> composite coatings have lower corrosion resistance as compared to Cu-Sn alloys, which is caused by the nonuniformity of the surface.
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