Characterisation of the palladium-modified thermal oxidation-treated titanium

A novel and cost-effective surface modification technique, namely palladium-modified thermal oxidation (PTO), has recently been developed, which can dramatically enhance corrosion and wear resistance of titanium. The present paper reports characterisation of the surface engineered (thermal oxidation and palladium-modified thermal oxidation) titanium, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), glow discharge spectrometry (GDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The surface case of the oxidised materials comprises a surface rutile TiO2 layer and an underlying diffusion zone (Ti-O solid solution). It has been found that the palladium treatment can decrease the grain size of the surface oxide, improve the oxide layer adherence, and delay the stratification and spallation of the surface oxide.