Synthesis of bioactive titania nanofibrous structures via oxidation

Abstract

Titania (TiO₂) nanofibres with controllable diameters have been successfully fabricated in situ on a Ti–6Al–4 V substrate by a thermal oxidation process. Their morphology, elemental composition, crystal structure, surface roughness and surface wettability were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, atomic force microscope and contact angle goniometer. The results showed that the diameter of the resulting TiO₂ nanofibres can be controlled within the range of 45–65 nm by changing the flow rate of argon gas. The results of material characterization studies revealed that TiO₂ nanofibres with smaller diameter possessed greater surface roughness and hydrophilicity, as well as the degree of crystallinity. Therefore, we envisage that such surfaces can be ideally used as biomedical implants for size-dependent cellular response.

Keywords:

• TiO₂
• Nanofibres
• Oxidation
• Surface properties

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia (ER018-2011A) and Postgraduate Research Fund of University of Malaya (PV102/2012A).