Preparation of Superhydrophobic Surface on Titanium Alloy via Micro-Milling, Anodic Oxidation and Fluorination

The superhydrophobic surface has a great advantage of self-cleaning, inhibiting bacterial adhesion, and enhancing anticoagulant properties in the field of biomedical materials. In this paper, a superhydrophobic surface was successfully prepared on titanium alloy via high-speed micro-milling, anodic oxidation and fluoroalkylsilane modification. The surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscope and a laser scanning microscope. The surface wettability was investigated through the sessile-drop method. Firstly, regular microgrooves were constructed by micro-milling. Then, nanotube arrays were fabricated by anodic oxidation. Afterwards, fluoroalkylsilane was used to self-assemble a monolayer on the surface with a composite micro/nanostructure. Compared to polished titanium samples, the modified samples exhibited superhydrophobic properties with the water contact angle (CA) of 153.7° and the contact angle hysteresis of 2.1°. The proposed method will provide a new idea for the construction of superhydrophobic titanium surgical instruments and implants in the future.