A super-hydrophilic surface enhanced by the hierarchical reticular porous structure on a low-modulus Ti–24Nb–4Zr–8Sn alloy

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated a super-hydrophilic (θ < 5°) hierarchical reticular porous structure on the surface of Ti–24Nb–4Zr–8Sn (Ti2448) by combining sandblasting, dual acid-etching, and alkali thermal treatment. The super-hydrophilic hierarchical structure on the surface contained fine well-distributed nanopores with random microscale structures, leading to extremely high surface hydrophilicity. The sand blasting and dual acid-etching processes (SLA) and alkaline treatment (AT) resulted in the formation of microscale structures and nanopores, respectively. The formation mechanism of the hierarchical reticular porous structures was also examined. The average size of the nanopores on the surface of the SLA + AT Ti2448 sample was 86.3 nm, and the hierarchical structure contained several biocompatible components, including TiO₂, Ti₂ZrO, ZrTiO₄, Nb₂O₅, Ti₂O₃, and ZrO₂. Because of their super-hydrophilic and chemically biocompatible characteristics, hierarchical Ti2448 structural candidates are expected to be more suitable as implants for successful osseointegration.