Morphological Differences and Their Effects on the Mechanical Properties of Titanium Oxides Thin Film Obtained via Anodization Process

Abstract

It is well known that anodization process is helpful for obtaining metallic oxides on the metal surfaces. The advantages of this process are used in this study to obtain rough surfaces consisting of titanium oxides and solid solutions of titanium and oxygen. Two different voltages were applied to a pure titanium foil during two process time periods. In all process conditions, titanium oxide thin films were successfully obtained on the base material. Depending on the duration of the process and the voltages applied, the amount and the sizes of oxide particles were changed. EDX analysis combined with SEM and AFM clearly showed that rough surfaces were obtained. Having rough surfaces would be helpful for bonding to another material. However, in the micro-nano scale it is clear that the inhomogeneous mechanical and chemical properties were obtained, most probably resulting in inhomogeneous crack initiation.