Formation of Al2O3 coatings on NiTi alloy by micro-arc oxidation method

Rough and porous Al2O3 coatings containing Ca and P were prepared on Ti–50.8 at.% Ni alloy by micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique. The microstructure, elemental and phase composition of the coatings were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and thin-film X-ray diffraction (TF-XRD). The thickness of the coatings was measured by eddy current coating thickness gauge. The corrosion resistance and the nickel release of the coated and uncoated samples were examined by potentiodynamic polarization tests and immersion tests in Hank’s solution, respectively. The results show that the coatings are mainly composed of γ-Al2O3 crystal phase. The Ni content of the coatings is about 3.5 at.%, which is greatly lower than that of NiTi substrate. With increasing treatment time, both thickness and roughness of the coatings increase. The corrosion resistance of the coated samples is about two orders of magnitude higher than that of the uncoated NiTi alloy. The concentration of Ni released from coated NiTi samples is much lower than that of uncoated NiTi sample. It can be reduced in the factor of one-seventh compared with the uncoated NiTi sample after 3 weeks immersion in Hank’s solution.