The effects of spark anodizing treatment of pure titanium metals and titanium alloys on corrosion characteristics

This study evaluated the surface characteristics of oxide films on commercially pure titanium metals (CP-Ti; Grade 2 and Grade 3) and titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb) samples formed by an anodic oxidation treatment, and investigated the effects of anodization on the corrosion characteristics. FE-SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy were used to evaluate the micromorphology and crystalline structure of the oxide films. The corrosion resistance of the sample groups was evaluated using open-circuit potential and cyclic polarization tests. After anodic oxidation up to dielectric breakdown with the same electric current, 150–200 nm-sized pores were distributed homogeneously on pure titanium metal samples, partially occluded pores were observed on the Ti6Al4V alloy, and there was an inhomogeneous size and distribution of pores on the Ti6Al7Nb alloy. The titanium dioxide films formed through anodic oxidation contained a phase mixture of anatase and rutile. The cyclic polarization tests showed that all the tested sample groups were not susceptible to localized corrosion. The as-received and anodically oxidized CP-Ti grade 3 groups showed a higher corrosion resistance than the other groups. The mean Ecorr values of the anodically oxidized sample groups, except for the anodized Ti6Al7Nb alloy, showed higher values than those of the respective as-received sample groups. In particular, the Ti6AL7Nb alloy showed a statistically higher Ecorr value in the anodized group than in the as-received group (p < 0.05).