Silver/silver oxide nanorod arrays from physical vapor deposition and subsequent anodization processes

Abstract

Abstract Silver/silver oxide nanorod arrays (n-Ag/Ag2O) were successfully grown on Ti–6Al–7Nb (Ti67) through physical vapor deposition magnetron sputtering (PVDMS) and electrochemical techniques. The results showed that the formation of a well-defined n-Ag/Ag2O and the microstructural evolution were strongly dependent on the anodization time. While both the 10 and 20 min anodized specimens demonstrated polycrystalline structures, their morphological features were quite different. From the microscopic analysis, the 20 min anodized sample indicated a well-ordered nanorod structure with an average size of 4 μm in length and 200 nm in width. Compared to the pure Ti67 and as-deposited Ag film, the anodized sample showed the highest hydrophilicity. The scratch length, failure point, and adhesion strength were 1200 μm, 680 μm and 115 ± 1 MPa, respectively, for the sample with the strongest adhesion. This technique is applicable to extend to other transition metal oxides and to a variety of medical grade titanium alloys.