Using Applied Electrochemistry to Obtain Nanoporous TiO2 Films on Ti6Al4V Implant Alloys and Their Preclinical In Vitro Characterization in Biological Solutions

Abstract

Nanoporous TiO2 film is deposited on grade 5 Ti6Al4V implant alloy by electrochemical oxidation. The nanopores of the film, as highlighted by electron microscopy, have a mean diameter of 58.6 nm, which is measured and calculated from an average value of 10 measurements. The increase in oxygen concentration compared to the untreated alloy, which indicates the oxidation of the titanium alloy surface, is visualized using X-ray spectroscopy coupled to an electron microscope. The beneficial effect of the oxidation and controlled formation of the TiO2 film on the implant alloy is proven by the comparative evaluation of degradation over time through the corrosion of both the untreated alloy and the alloy with an electrochemically formed and controlled TiO2 film in Hank’s solution, which simulates the most corrosive biological fluid, blood. The results show that the electrochemical modification of the grade 5 titanium alloy to form a nanoporous TiO2 surface film using the electrochemical oxidation method confirms the potential of improving the anticorrosive properties of titanium alloys used in implant applications.