Study of a Nanostructured Anatase Coating on the Rutile Surface

Abstract

Nanosized titanium dioxide allows solving complex engineering problems. One such a problem is the development of materials and coatings that reduce the probability of nosocomial infections of the surface of orthopedic structures, including implant systems. This article presents the results of studying anatase ceramic coatings deposited according to the sol–gel technology on a sintered material based on nanosized titanium dioxide powder (rutile modification) by the Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The resulting coating has a complex layered structure, which almost completely consists of titanium dioxide in the anatase phase according to the Raman spectroscopy data. The simultaneous occurrence of both phases is fixed in a coating. The identification of rutile in X-ray diffraction patterns is apparently associated with the fact that rutile with a varied peak intensity is preferentially formed at the first deposition stages of the coating on the polycrystalline rutile surface. The fact that nonstoichiometric phases are also present in X-ray diffraction patterns makes it possible to assume that the phase composition of the coating over the thickness is nonidentical and presented by a gradual layerwise transition from rutile to anatase. The coating thickness is 60 ± 15 μm. It is presented by lamellar blocks of various sizes. The thickness of a separate plate is in the limits of 60–80 nm. This procedure allows the deposition of an anatase coating not only on the ceramic samples based on titanium dioxide, but also on the surface of titanium implants when preliminarily forming the titanium dioxide layer in the form of rutile on the metal surface. The experiments on the investigation into the antibacterial properties and morphological characteristics of bone tissue contacting with the implant are performed at the Department of the Prosthetic Dentistry at the Perm State Medical University.