Enhanced corrosion resistance, antibacterial and biological properties of sol-gel derived Ti-rGO-HAp nanocomposites

In the present work, pure Hydroxyapatite (HAp), Titanium-Hydroxyapatite (Ti-HAp), reduced Graphene oxide-Hydroxyapatite (rGO-HAp), and Titanium-reduced Graphene Oxide-Hydroxyapatite (Ti-rGO-HAp) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized using sol-gel technique. They are fabricated as films on 316 L stainless steel plate. The impact of the incorporation of Ti and rGO on properties (structural, optical, morphological, corrosion, antibacterial, and biocompatibility) of the HAp nanopowders are investigated. The hexagonal structure of the nanocomposites was observed through XRD spectrographs. The average crystallite size of the synthesized nanocomposites varies from 37 to 51 nm. The crystallite size was reduced due to the incorporation of Ti ions on the HAp surface. The surface morphology and chemical compositions of as-prepared samples are investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), respectively. The antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility observations of the pure HAp and Ti-rGO-HAp nanocomposites demonstrated that titanium-added HAp nanocomposites exhibit more toxic in opposition to all bacterial strains and have no toxicity against live tissues. The incorporation of Ti and rGO ions increase polarization resistance with a decrease in current density from 8.7 to 3.0 A, which is observed in the corrosion tests of the manufactured films in the stimulated body fluid (SBF). The corrosion resistance efficiency, zone inhibition layer and improved biocompatibility show that the novel (Ti–rGO-HAp) nanocomposites are the potential candidate for biomedical applications-