Fabrication of BaTiO3 films on titanium by microarc oxidation method and improvement of bioactivity by electric poling treatment

A microarc oxidation (MAO) method was used to deposit a ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) film on titanium implant metal. The bioactivity of the sample was enhanced by negatively polarizing the film surface. BTO-1 and BTO-2 sample groups were fabricated by applying a constant AC current of 1.2 A/cm2 (900 s) and 2.0 A/cm2 (600 s), respectively. The BTO film surface was negatively polarized using a high temperature poling treatment. The bioactivity of the non-polarized BTO and polarized BTO films was compared using an immersion test in Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium (MEM). For both groups, 0.5–2 μm diameter pores were evenly distributed over the BTO film surface fabricated using the MAO method. The crystallinity and film-to-substrate bond strength of the BTO-2 film were higher than those of the BTO-1 film. The in vitro MEM immersion test demonstrated more calcium phosphate deposition on the negatively polarized BTO film than on the non-polarized BTO film.