ZrN-ZrO[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text] and ZrO[Formula: see text]-ZrO[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text] coatings were deposited on 316L stainless steel substrates via the unbalanced DC magnetron sputtering technique in order to improve their corrosion resistance and evaluate their possible use as a coating biocompatible with bone cells. The composition, structure, morphology, and corrosion resistance were studied by sum means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The corrosion resistance was evaluated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl using potentiodynamic polarization (PL) and electrochemical impedance techniques (EIS). The ZrN-ZrO[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text] and ZrO[Formula: see text]-ZrO[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text] coatings exhibited barrier-type protection of the substrate against corrosion. The growth of mouse osteoblast cells was evaluated in the coating that exhibited the greatest resistance to corrosion, ZrO[Formula: see text]-ZrO[Formula: see text]N[Formula: see text], finding that the cell viability was maintained, so this material can be considered to be a candidate for use in osteosynthesis processes.
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