Morphology and Properties of Coatings Obtained by Plasma-Electrolytic Oxidation of Titanium Alloys in Pyrophosphate Electrolytes

By means of scanning electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and X-ray spectral microanalysis it was shown that, under plasma-electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of titanium alloys in pyrophosphate electrolytes, well-adhered oxide coatings with microglobular morphology result. It was demonstrated that the chemical and phase composition of the coatings, as well as the surface topography and grain size, can be controlled by changing the concentration of a pyrophosphate electrolyte and a PEO current density. It was established that the resulting oxide layer is highly resistant to abrasive wear and enhances the titanium corrosion resistance in model media (Ringer’s solution) substantially, which suggests that the coatings are promising for use in biological applications.