A Freestanding Sol-Gel Technique for Growth of Nanowire Arrays in SiO2-CaO-P2O5-ZrO2 System

The biomaterials with high silicon content such as bioactive glass-ceramics play important and significant roles in the growth and development of the hard tissue. In this research, glass-ceramic in SiO2-CaO-P2O5-ZrO2 system was applied on stainless steel (SS) by the sol-gel method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the coating and investigate its microstructure. The results showed the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA), after heat treatment in 700 degrees C. SEM micrographs showed some hillocks and nanowires on the surface of 316L stainless steel. It was concluded that defects play an important role in the growth of nanowire.