Liquid phase deposition of titanium oxide film on stainless steel substrate

In this study, liquid phase deposition (LPD) was used to prepare titanium oxide (TiO2) films on stainless steel substrates. The raw materials used were ammonium hexafluorotitanate and boric acid. Various concentrations of boric acid and annealing conditions were employed to examine the influences on hydrophilicity, anti-corrosion and anti-abrasion. The optimum conditions were a boric acid concentration of 0.7 M and oxygen annealing at 800 °C for 1 h. The water contact angle was reduced from 82.62° to 2.51°, indicating that the hydrophilic properties of the stainless steel were enhanced after TiO2 film deposition. Regarding corrosion, the corrosive current reduced from − 4.75 A/cm2 to − 6.52 A/cm2 by 3.65 wt.% of HCl. The Vickers hardness value (HV) of the stainless steel substrate increased from 254 to 820. Therefore, TiO2 thin films prepared using LPD can improve the hydrophilic, anti-corrosion, and anti-abrasion properties of stainless steel substrates.