Electrophoretic deposition technique for coating nano “TiO_2” on SS316L alloy

The aim of this work was to use the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique for the deposition of nano-”TiO_2” layers directly on an SS316L substrate. The nano-”TiO_2” films were deposited on an SS316L alloy with various parameters, such as potential, time of deposition and annealed temperature—the optimum parameters required for the development of stable nano-”TiO_2” layer coating. The results obtained from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FESEM tests in this study showed that the “TiO_2” layers sintered at 400 °C were amorphous. The XRD patterns showed the anatase phase at 600 °C for 1 h. The heat treatment of “TiO_2” layers led to good adhesion with the SS316L alloy. The heat treatment above 500 °C led to the agglomeration of nano-”TiO_2” layers from 28 nm to 78 nm at 600 °C. The thickness of the nano-”TiO_2” coating increased with the deposition time and potential. The optimum thickness of the nano-”TiO_2” coating on the SS316L alloy was 50 μm at 5 min and 30 V. The increase in coating thickness with the time and potential of deposition led to problems, including increases in roughness and weak adhesion of the coating layer.