Characterization of titanium oxide nanotubes growth through anodization in organic solvents

Abstract

The titanium oxide nanotubes have generated great interest in recent years because to the wide variety of applications in which they are used. The reason for this is the excellent surface properties that this material gets after of grow in the anodizing process. These properties can easily modify the electrochemical anodizing process. For this reason, we have analyzed the effect of electrolyte on the morphology and corrosion resistance of titanium oxide nanotubes grown at glycerol with 0.3% w/w ammonium fluoride and 2% v/v distilled water at 30 volts for 1 hour and ethylene glycol with 0.3% w/w ammonium fluoride and 2% v/v distilled water at 40 volts for 30 minutes. The morphology of the surfaces is observed by scanning electron microscopy. The resistance to corrosion of the samples is evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization curves in Hanks solution at 37 °C. The results of the nanotubes grew in glycerol have a length of 0.7 μm with a morphology of the bamboo type, while the nanotubes grown in ethyleneglycol they have a length of 3.3 μm and their morphology is smooth wall. Regarding the corrosion rate, it was determined that the nanotubes grown in glycerol have a higher corrosion rate. Because to these low corrosion rates it is considered that the two surfaces can be used as alternatives to modify orthopedic implant materials.