Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor 1
Jaroslaw W. Drelich
Committee Member 1
Stephen L. Kampe
Committee Member 2
Joshua J. Mueller
Committee Member 3
Kathryn A. Perrine
Abstract
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the suitability of existing approaches to solid surface energy in increasing the adhesion of Parylene C to titanium, as well as some novel approaches. In transitioning from metal to metal oxide during passivation, the surface changes from one in which only dispersion forces are possible to one in which dispersive and either polar or acid-base forces must be present. Matching these components of the surface/interfacial energy as a means of maximizing the work of adhesion have been made in both academic and technical literature. Yet, few studies have attempted to connect multicomponent surface energy measurements with adhesion, and certainly not for the Parylene C-titanium system. Here, it is hypothesized that the titanium surface can be controlled through the partial pressure of oxygen in passivation or pretreatment to increase the work of adhesion (and thereby the practical adhesion) to Parylene C. This work begins with the careful characterization of the heat of fusion of Parylene C, which is currently missing from the literature. It is anticipated that this value will be highly valuable to researchers working with this material, as it enables the determination of the degree of crystallinity through simple differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. Next, non-trivial measurements of the multicomponent surface energy of both the adherend (titanium) and the coating (Parylene C) are taken under differing conditions of annealing and passivation/pretreatment, respectively. Finally, the application of contact angle (CA) measurement for calculating surface energy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for coating adhesion and delamination is used to test the hypothesis and evaluate existing multicomponent approaches to adhesion. Additionally, the polarizability approach of Carré is also considered and then extended in what has been herein termed “Bidirectional Carré.” Results indicate that is extension may be as predictive as traditional surface energy models.
Recommended Citation
Graham, Matthew T., "IMPROVED LONGEVITY OF ORTHOPEDIC IMPLANTS BY ADHESION OF PARYLENE C TO TITANIUM ALLOY PASSIVATION LAYERS VIA THE MULTICOMPONENT APPROACH TO SOLID SURFACE ENERGY", Campus Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2025.