SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION OF TiO2 NANOFILMS OBTAINED BY SOL-GEL DIP-COATING AND ANODIC OXIDATION TECHNIQUES

MARÍA L. VERA; MIGUEL A. ALTERACH; MARIO R. ROSENBERGER; DIEGO G. LAMAS; CARLOS E. SCHVEZOV; ALICIA E. ARES

Puerto Inguazú, Misiones.

Congreso; 13º CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE METALURGIA Y MATERIALES, SAM/CONAMET 2013; 2013

Asociación Argentina de Materiales

With the aim to produce suitable TiO2 thin films as coating of Ti-6Al-4V prosthetic heart valves, the surface characterization of TiO2 thin films associated with the process variables of the sol-gel dip-coating and anodic oxidation techniques is presented. The influence of heat treatment is also studied. The main surface characteristics of the films for that application are thickness, morphology and crystal structure. As the size of the films is in the order of nanometers (20 - 142 nm), to obtain a precise measurement of their thickness and analyze their crystalline structures, glancing incidence angle X-ray techniques using synchrotron radiation are used. A constant relationship between the color and thickness of the films was found. This allows estimating the film thickness by the film color. In the range of the parameters studied, both techniques produce thin films with smooth surfaces which at most reproduce the surface polished substrate roughness. Independently of the technique, thermally treated films thicker than 47 nm presented different crystalline structures with anatase and rutile phases.