Formation of porous TiOx biomaterials in H3PO4 electrolytes

In this work, formation of porous TiOx layers and theirs corrosion behavior were studied. Application of H3PO4 electrolytes results in porous TiOx formation. The process is enhanced by small amount of HF content in the electrolyte. The HF results in higher current density, enhancing dissolution. Small 0.5% HF concentration results in nanopores formation, with pore diameter of about 45 nm. Increase of HF concentration up to 10% results in pores with average diameter of about 5.2 μm. An increase of etching time results in larger pore diameter, but between large 2–5 μm diameter pores smallest ones were observed with diameter below 200 nm. In the initial etching process a remnants of the flat surface are presents with initial cracks in the surface, indicating places for growth of the pores.The TiOx layers can be used as a biomaterial. The corrosion behavior of the layer investigated in Ringer’s solution, revealed an excellent corrosion resistance, with respect to pure Ti.