Effect of electrolyte type on the morphology and crystallinity of TiO₂ nanotubes from Ti-6Al-4V anodization

A good biocompatibility material such as Ti-6Al-4V is neededfor a dental application.However,Ti-6Al-4V has no antibacterial properties. Therefore Ti-6Al-4V is modified using anodizing methods to improve its anti-bacterial properties. One of the most influential factors in the anodizing process is the type of electrolyte solution. The influence of electrolyte solution based on glycerol and ethylene glycol to morphology and crystallinity of TiO₂ nanotubes is studied. Smoothing and chemical polishing was performed against the Ti-4Al-6V plate. Then, the anodizing process for each plate in glycerol and ethylene glycol solution was done for 2 hours and 50 volts. Calcination was carried out for 3 hours at a temperature 500°C. FESEM-EDX and XRD were employed to analyze the surface morphology and crystallinity of TiO₂ nanotubes. Viscosity of the electrolyte solution influenced surfacemorphology. Calcination process influenced crystallinity of TiO₂ nanotubes.The average tube diameter and thickness from glycerolelectrolyte solution was 135.45 nm and 26.27 nm, while ethylene glycol was 68.52 nm and 35.62 nm respectively. The size of anatase crystal was 34.95 nm for glycerol and 44.77 nm for ethylene glycol.