Surface modification of Ti-6Al-4V by electrochemical
oxidation

Abstract

Titanium is a metallic biomaterial having multidimensional properties, highly sophisticated function and a wide range of applications in the biomedical field, especially as implants. Titanium is an effective biomaterial for biomedical implants because of its biocompatibility and nontoxicity. Ti-6Al-4V has been used as a substrate in the electrochemical process of anodic oxidation. Two different composition of electrolyte have been chosen for the present study. The first electrolyte consists of CH3COOH and HF and the second electrolyte consist of H2SO4 and HF. Anodic oxidation was carried out in 2-electrode system using a pure graphite rod as the cathode while a polished Titanium sample was used as the anode. The electrochemical oxidation was carried out at a constant voltage supply for different time duration. After deposition, the sample was dried at room temperature for 24 hours and the oxide layer was later analyzed through different characterization techniques. The surface morphology and phase analysis of the coated surface was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM images show the presence of uniformly distributed oxide layer on the Ti-6Al-4V surface. The Micro-hardness test of the electrolytically grown oxide was also carried to determine the hardness of the coating, which confirms that after treatment hardness of Ti-6Al-4V increases with the time duration. Lastly, the wettability test was carried out on the surface of the coated Ti-6Al-4V to evaluate the wetting property of the surface.