Abstract
Sol-gel synthesised nano-size hydroxyapatite (HA) powders were dispersed in water-based suspensions with the addition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Ti6Al4V medical alloys were coated with monolithic and carbon nanotube-reinforced HA using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) in an attempt to control deposit structure and thickness. It was shown that the sintering temperature of the deposited HA layers was significantly lowered by the use of sinter active nano-powders. Moreover the addition of carbon nanotubes increased the bonding strength of the EPD-formed layers to the metallic substrate. The cost-effective EPD technique used in the present work has high industrial potential for coating metallic medical implants with composite bioactive layers.