Surface morphology of Zn-containing hydroxyapatite (Zn-HA) deposited electrochemically on Ti–xNb alloys

• Zn-containing HA deposited electrochemically on Ti–Nb alloys was investigated.
• The Zn-HA layers had denser structures with increasing Nb content.
• The nano-scale Zn-HA morphology changed from rod-like to network-like structure.

In this study, the surface morphology of Zn-containing hydroxyapatite (Zn-HA) electrochemically deposited on Ti–xNb alloys was investigated using various experimental techniques. Ti alloys containing from 10 to 50 wt.% Nb were manufactured in a vacuum arc-melting furnace. The Zn-HA layers were grown by electrochemical deposition at 85 °C on the Ti–xNb alloy surface in a solution containing Ca, Zn, and P ions. The microstructures of the Ti–xNb alloys changed from a needle-like structure to an equiaxed structure with increasing Nb content. The phases and morphologies for the Zn-HA layers were influenced by the Zn ion content. The HA and Zn-HA layers formed denser microstructures with increasing Nb content. The nano-scale morphologies of the Zn-HA layers changed from a rod-like structure to a network-like structure.