Titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) is proposed as a coating to decrease the reflectivity of surgical instrumentation, thereby improving the field of vision of surgeons during procedures, although the corrosion resistance of the material against repeated sterilization processes must be guaranteed. The influence of aluminum (Al) on the microstructural and electrochemical properties of low-reflectivity titanium aluminum nitride coatings deposited by direct-current unbalanced magnetron sputtering was evaluated. The optical properties, chemical phases and composition were determined using the ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The microstructures were analyzed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy–selected area electron diffraction. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization. It was found that an increase in the aluminum content reduced the coating reflectivity by 60%, showing a dense columnar crystalline structure with a grain size of 200–100 nm and roughness of 6.7–4.0 nm and the coexistence of titanium nitride (TiN), aluminum nitride (AlN), titanium aluminum nitride and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) phases. In comparison with AISI 420 steel, the TiAlN-1300W aluminum coating showed a more positive corrosion potential, as well as a current density two orders of magnitude lower, thus guaranteeing corrosion resistance.

中文翻译：

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低反射率 TiAlN 涂层电化学行为的详细研究

氮化钛铝 (TiAlN) 被提议作为涂层以降低手术器械的反射率，从而改善手术过程中外科医生的视野，尽管必须保证材料对重复灭菌过程的耐腐蚀性。评估了铝 (Al) 对通过直流不平衡磁控溅射沉积的低反射率氮化铝钛涂层的微观结构和电化学性能的影响。使用紫外-可见光谱、能量色散 X 射线光谱、X 射线光电子能谱和 X 射线衍射技术确定光学性质、化学相和组成。通过原子力显微镜分析微观结构，扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜——选区电子衍射。通过电化学阻抗谱和动电位极化评价耐腐蚀性。结果表明，铝含量的增加使涂层反射率降低了 60%，呈现出致密的柱状晶体结构，晶粒尺寸为 200-100 nm，粗糙度为 6.7-4.0 nm，并同时存在氮化钛（TiN），氮化铝 (AlN)、氮化铝钛和氧化铝 (Al₂ O ₃ ) 相。与AISI 420钢相比，TiAlN-1300W铝涂层表现出更正的腐蚀电位，以及低两个数量级的电流密度，从而保证了耐腐蚀性。