Chemical etching of titanium samples

Abstract

We studied chemical etching treatment on the surface of titanium implant materials, specifically 2 mm thick Grade 2 and nanoparticulate titanium discs, aiming to modify the surface roughness of samples. For chemical etching we investigated changes in reaction time on the surface (15-600 seconds). During the research we obtained the changes of thickness, mass and the surface roughness on both sides of every disc after the acid etching. The resulting surface was examined with optical stereo and reflected-light microscopy and electron microscopy. As a result we found that the optimal etching parameters are an etching time of 30 seconds, etching solution of 9 V/V% hydrofluoric acid, 12 V/V% nitric acid and distilled water and a temperature of 30oC, because with this protocol the burr from milling detaches from the surface.