Surface engineering and interface chemistry of two-step sandblasted and dual acid-treated Ti6Al4V alloy for superior corrosion resistance and photocatalytic degradation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Ti6Al4V has excellent mechanical strength and broad passivation behavior, although it has limited photocatalysis and is susceptible to specialized corrosion under challenging acidic conditions. In this study, Ti6Al4V alloys were treated with sandblasting (SB)/ plasma (PT) treatment and were treated again with double acid etching (DAE) to demonstrate the surface improvements. The Ti6Al4V was tested with the primary etching mixture containing H 2 SO 4 , HCl and DI water and then with the oxidizing mixture of H 2 SO 4 and H 2 O 2 . The XRD and FTIR analysis showed that the composition consisted mostly of α-Ti with low intensity, followed by Ti-O and Ti-OH phases of TiO 2 functional groups formed after both treatments. UV-DRS examination indicated that the band gap energy of the SB-DAE Ti6Al4V decreased dramatically from 3.05 to 2.18. SEM images revealed that leaf-like porosity regions, plate-like patterns, rose-like patterns, and circular microstructures were formed in the Ti6Al4V alloy after the treatments. From the corrosion analysis, the SB-DAE rendered an increase in E corr of Ti6Al4V by 87.71% and decreased I corr by 93.38%, whereas PT-DAE increased the E corr by 7.94% and decreased I corr by 87.40%. Furthermore, the SB-DAE-treated Ti6Al4V exhibited 79% photocatalytic efficiency under UV–visible radiation, which is higher than untreated Ti6Al4V (48%). The surfaces of Ti6Al4V treated with SB and DAE improve their hardness, charge-transfer behavior, and oxygen vacancies of functional performance by incorporating controlled morphologies and structures onto defective TiO 2 , all of which are improved for photocatalysis and corrosion performances.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,540
OpenAlex ID: W7147553164