| Abstract Scope |
Severe plastic deformation during cold spray deposition enhances copper's antimicrobial efficacy over bulk copper by increasing defect density, facilitating copper ion diffusion and contact killing. Although laser surface texturing is widely used for surface functionalization, its application to antimicrobial cold-sprayed copper-based coatings remains limited. This work investigates whether nanosecond laser surface texturing can further improve the antimicrobial performance of cold-sprayed copper coatings by tailoring surface morphology and wettability.
Laser pattern, hatch distance, pulse overlap, and repetition number are varied at fixed surface composition. Surface morphology, roughness, wettability, and crystallite size are characterized via scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, contact angle measurements, and X-ray diffraction. Copper ion release, accelerated aging, and antibacterial and antiviral efficacy are evaluated to establish processing–structure–property relationships for these coatings. Rougher, hydrophilic textures are expected to accelerate copper ion release and antimicrobial efficacy, with accelerated aging results clarifying their long-term performance for high-touch hospital surfaces. |