Novel technique for preparing Ca- and P-containing ceramic coating on Ti-6Al-4V by micro-arc oxidation.

A novel technique for preparing the Ca- and P-containing ceramic coating on Ti-6Al-4V alloy by micro-arc oxidation (MAO) was developed successfully in this paper. In the new technique, Ti alloy first was micro-arc oxidated in P-containing electrolyte, and then it was micro-arc oxidated in Ca-containing electrolyte. This technique can avoid the undesired chemical reaction between Ca-containing salt and P-containing salt in electrolyte. The surface morphologies, composition, and phases of MAO coatings were studied by means of SEM, EDS, and XRD. The results show that the P- and Ca-containing coating on Ti-6Al-4V alloy contains Ti, TiO(2) (rutile), alpha-Ca(PO(3))(2), CaTiO(3), and AlTi(3). There are many small and uniform pores in the coating. Most of these pores are coterminous. The microhardness of the coating is 720 HV and higher than that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy (220 HV). The coating is more wear-resistant than Ti-6Al-4V alloy under the lubricant of the artificial saliva and not easy to desquamate from the substrate of Ti-6Al-4V alloy.