The effect of EEMAO processing on surface mechanical properties of the TiO2–ZrO2 nanostructured composite coatings

We report fabrication of TiO2–ZrO2 nanostructured composite coatings by EPD-Enhanced MAO (EEMAO) technique on titanium substrates where especial emphasis was placed on improving the surface hardness of the substrates and establishing a microstructure-property correlation. Based on the XRD and the EDX results, the layers consisted of anatase, rutile, monoclinic zirconia, and tetragonal zirconia. It was observed that the anatase/rutile and tetragonal/monoclinic zirconia rations increased with the processing time and the electrolyte concentration. The zirconia content also increased with the processing time and the electrolyte concentration. XPS technique was also employed to further confirm the surface chemical composition and stoichiometry of the layers. A uniform distribution of zirconia across the titania matrix was evident in the SEM images. The surface hardness of the TiO2-ZrO2 composite layers was observed to increase with the zirconia concentration. Employing EEMAO technique, the surface harness of the titanium substrates was successfully improved from ∼190 Hv to ∼700 Hv.