Tribo-Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior Investigation of Anodized Ti–V alloy

Abstract

In this study, a self-organized TiO2 nanotube array film was produced by electrochemical anodization of a Ti–V alloy in an electrolyte containing NH4F/H3PO4 and then annealed at different temperatures under different atmospheres. The effect of annealing temperature in different atmospheres on the morphology of the film was analyzed, and the tribo-mechanical property and corrosion behavior of TiO2 were investigated. The phase compositions and morphological characteristics were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results indicated that the TiO2 characteristic peaks did not appear after anodization due to the intrinsic amorphous feature. However, highly crystalline TiO2 (anatase and rutile) was formed after annealing from 200°C to 600°C. In addition, it can be concluded that the high hardness and low coefficient of friction of the highly crystalline structure of the TiO2 nanotubes noticeably improved the wear resistance of the Ti–V alloy according to the wear test and nanoindentation experiment. Moreover, the corrosion behaviors of TiO2 coated and uncoated substrates were evaluated in the synthetic medium, and it was confirmed that the corrosion resistance of the TiO2-coated Ti–V alloy was significantly higher than that of the uncoated sample.