M. KULKARNI et al.: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES 19–24 MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES MEHANSKE LASTNOSTI NANOSTRUKTUR TITANOVEGA DIOKSIDA Mukta Kulkarni 1 , Josef [epitka 2 , Ita Junkar 3 , Metka Ben~ina 1,3 , Niharika Rawat 1 , Anca Mazare 4 , Chandrashekhar Rode 5 , Suresh Gokhale 6 , Patrik Schmuki 4 , Matej Daniel 2 , Ales Igli~ 1* 1 Laboratory of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tr`a{ka 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 Department of Mechanics, Biomechanics and Mechatronics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technicka 4, Prague 16607, Czech Republic 3 Department of Surface Engineering and Optoelectronics, Jo`ef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia 4 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, WW4-LKO, University of Erlangen Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7 91058, Erlangen, Germany 5 Chemical Engineering and Process Development Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, India 411008 6 Physical & Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, India 411008 Prejem rokopisa – received: 2020-06-09; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2020-07-25 doi:10.17222/mit.2020.109 Highly ordered and uniform titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes (NTs) with different morphologies (15 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm in diameter) were prepared by the electrochemical anodization of Ti substrates. The TiO2 NTs’ surface properties were character- ized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force mi- croscopy (AFM). The elastic modulus (E) and the Vickers hardness (HV) of the Ti foil and of the different-morphology TiO2 NTs were evaluated with the nano-indentation technique. E and HV increase with the decreasing length/diameter of the NTs, meaning that NTs with smaller diameters are more resistant to mechanical wear. The elastic modulus of the TiO2 NTs with 15-nm and 50-nm diameters is similar to that of the human bone. Keywords: titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes, mechanical properties, elastic modulus, Vickers hardness Z elektrokemi~no anodizacijo titanovega (Ti) substrata smo pripravili nanocevke iz titanovega dioksida (TiO2) z razli~no morfologijo. Pripravljene TiO2 nanocevke smo karakterizirali z rentgensko difrakcijsko spektroskopijo (XRD), Ramansko spektroskopijo, vrsti~no elektronsko mikroskopijo (SEM) in mikroskopijo na atomsko silo (AFM). Elasti~ni modul (E)i n Vickersova trdota (HV) Ti folije in TiO2 nanocevk z razli~no morfologijo, sta bili dolo~eni s tehniko nanoindentacije. Elasti~ni modul in Vickersova trdota nara{~ata z zmanj{anjem dol`ine/premera TiO2 nanocevk, kar pomeni, da so nanocevke z ni`jim premerom bolj odporne na mehansko obrabo. Elasti~ni modul TiO2 nanocevk, s premerom 15 nm in 50 nm, je podoben elasti~nemu modulu ~love{kih kosti. Klju~ne besede: nanocevke iz titanovega dioksida (TiO2), mehanske lastnosti, elasti~ni modul, Vickersova trdota 1 INTRODUCTION Titanium and its alloys are some of the most widely used implant materials because of their low toxicity, biocompatibility and mechanical properties. This is at- tributed to great tensile strength, resistance to body fluid effects, flexibility and high corrosion resistance. 1 Al- though orthopaedic implants made of titanium alloys im- ply better results, the limited lifetime of these implants remains a major drawback. This limitation is due to the integration of the Ti-implant material with the juxta- posed bone tissue (osseointegration). 2,3 To overcome osseointegration, the surface of titanium and its alloys can be modified to support cell adhesion and to encour- age the formation of new bone at the interface between the implant surface and the bone tissue. 4 Surface modification involves shifting topography from the micro to nanoscale or tailoring the nanoscale morphology so that the implant surface mimics the fea- ture size of natural tissues and promotes cellular func- tions. 5,6 Fabricating implant surfaces to have nanoscale dimensions is important because the feature size of all tissues is in the nano regime. For example, natural bone has inorganic constituent made up of 2–5 nm thickness and 20–25 nm wide hydroxyapatite crystals. 7 Electro- chemical anodization is one of the most cost-effective and convenient methods of nanoscaling the surface, 8–10 which when performed under self-organized conditions results in TiO 2 NTs grown directly on the Ti substrate material. 1–9 In addition, the morphology of the nanotubes can be tailored for the desired application, e.g., the thick- ness of these layers can reach several hundreds of μm, while the nanotube diameter can be adjusted from 10 nm to 800 nm. 1,11 Among all the other properties of TiO 2 nanostructures, the elastic modulus is a property that af- fects directly the implant stability. It is desirable that the Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 55 (2021) 1, 19–24 19 UDK 67.017:620.3:549.514.6 ISSN 1580-2949 Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 55(1)19(2021) *Corresponding author's e-mail: ales.iglic@fe.uni-lj.si (Ale{ Igli~) metal’s elastic modulus be as close as possible to that of the bone, because smaller differences between these val- ues will result in a better transfer of stress, and avoiding the stress-shielding effect. 12 The elastic modulus and hardness of the TiO 2 NTs layer plays an important role for the long-term stability of the implant – the most suitable technique to determine the elastic modulus of such thin TiO 2 oxide layers is nano-indentation. However, the initial roughness and the probe geometry impose limitations. G. A. Crawford et al. 13 have examined the deformation behaviour of a nanotube layer using nano-indentation tests with a Berkovich probe, that led to an indentation penetration higher than the thickness of the nanotube layer and wear marks on the indentation. B. Voltrova et al. 14 studied the influence of the TiO 2 nanotubes’ diameter on the nanomechanical properties and found that a larger diam- eter of the nanotubes showed a lower elastic modulus and indentation hardness, and indicated that TiO 2 nanotubes with a diameter close to 66 nm show the high- est in-vitro benefits and therefore could be applied to im- prove bone implants’ osseointegration. In the present study, TiO 2 NTs with different morphologies were obtained by using electrochemical anodization and the nano-indentation properties of dif- ferent diameter nanotubes were studied based on the Oli- ver-Pharzz methodology. 2 EXPERIMENTAL PART 2.1 Materials Titanium foil (Advent Research Materials, 0.1 mm thickness, 99.6 %), ethylene glycol (Fluka, 99.5 %), ammonium fluoride – NH 4 F (Sigma Aldrich, 28.0–30.0 %), hydrofluoric acid – HF (Sigma Aldrich, 40 %) acetone (Honeywell Riedel – de Haen, 99.5 %), ethanol (Sigma Aldrich, 96%), deionized water (miliQ). 2.2 Fabrication of TiO2 nanosurfaces The fabrication of the TiO 2 NTs was carried out ac- cording to the electrochemical anodization method as in references, 5–8 although using slightly different parame- ters, as described below. All the anodization experiments were carried out at room temperature ( 20 °C) in a two-electrode system, using Ti foil as the working elec- trode and a platinum gauze as the counter electrode. Prior to anodization, the Ti foils were degreased by suc- cessive ultrasonication in acetone, ethanol and deionised water for 5 min each and dried in a nitrogen stream. An ethylene glycol-based electrolyte containing NH 4 F (0.35 w/%) and H 2 O (1.7 w/%) was used to grow the TiO 2 NTs. This step was followed by removing the nanotubular layer via ultrasonication in deionised water and then by drying the pre-patterned sample in a nitro- gen stream. This pre-patterned surface was subsequently used as a substrate in the anodization in the ethylene-gly- col-based electrolyte containing hydrofluoric acid (Table 1), used to grow homogeneous layers of self-ar- ranged TiO 2 NTs. The as-formed TiO 2 NTs were im- mersed in ethanol for2hinorder to remove the organic components from the electrolyte solution. 2.3 Surface characterization of Ti nanostructures 2.3.1 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) The morphology of the TiO 2 nanostructures was ob- served using a field-emission scanning electron micro- scope – Hitachi FE-SEM S4800. 2.3.2 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Topographic features of the Ti foil and of the 100-nm-diameter TiO 2 NTs were studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (Solver PRO, NT-MDT, Russia) in tapping mode in an air atmosphere. The samples were scanned with the standard Si cantilever (MikroMasch) at a constant force of 22 N/m and resonance frequency of 325 kHz (10 nm tip radius and 95 μm tip length). The av- erage surface roughness (R a ) was calculated from 10 dif- ferent images made on (5×5) μm areas. 2.3.3 Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) The 3D topography of the titanium substrate surface was obtained by Hysitron’s in-situ Scanning Probe Mi- croscopy (SPM). Samples were scanned at a contact force of 1 μN between a nano-indentation tip (diamond Berkovich) and a titanium substrate surface. In-situ SPM images were analysed using Hysitron’s TriboView TM software. The average surface roughness (R a ) was calcu- lated from a (20×20) μm area. 3D topography of the TiO 2 NTs’ surface was obtained by Hysitron’s in-situ SPM as well. Samples were scanned at a contact force of 0.05 μN between the nano-indentation tip (diamond Cube Corner) and the TiO 2 NTs’ surface. 2.3.4 Raman spectroscopy Raman spectra of all TiO 2 samples were recorded us- ing a Horiba Jobin-Yvon LabRAM HR800 Raman spec- trometer equipped with 100× optical microscope, appro- priate holographic notch filters and 1800 grooves/mm holographic grating to provide the spectral resolution of 0.25 cm 1 . A 632.8 nm helium-neon laser of 10-mW power and 2-μm spot size was used to excite the sam- ples. The spectra were taken in the wavenumber range of 100–1000 cm 1 with an exposure time of 2s. 2.3.5 X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) The crystal structure of the nanotube arrays was also confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD; PAN analytical D8 model) with Cu-K radiation (K = 0,15400 nm) in the 2 range 20–80. 2.3.6 Nanoindentation studies A Hysitron TI 950 TriboIndenter TM nanomechanical test instrument was used for an assessment of the depth M. KULKARNI et al.: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES 20 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 55 (2021) 1, 19–24 profiles of the mechanical properties on TiO 2 NTs (diam- eters 15 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm) and Ti foil as a refer- ence sample. The partial unload approach requires elas- tic-plastic deformation during gradual force cycles in order to analyse each unloading segment according the Oliver & Pharr method 15 Automated analysis plots the depth profile as discrete datasets. Based on the 1/10 rule, a coating of 100-nm thickness requires measurements at <10 nm depth. 16 A standard Berkovich tip area function A(h), describing the shape of the indentation probe, was used:A=24.5h2+C 1h+C 2h1/2 +C3h1/4+C 4h1/8 + C5h1/16, where C1 = 7.6736E+3, C2 = –2.3046E+5, C3 = 1.9088E+6, C4 = –4.2845E+6 and C5 = 2.6127E+6. A Ti foil was used as reference to examine the nano- mechanical properties of TiO 2 NTs with diameters of 15 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm. Table 2: Number of TiO 2 NTs in the contact with the Berkovich tip for contact depth hc=5nmandhc = 35 nm corresponding to the dia- gram in Figure 1 calculated from tip area function Diameter (nm) TiO 2 NTs in the contact hc = 5 nm (quantity) TiO 2 NTs in the contact hc = 35 nm (quantity) 15 39.44 224.56 50 3.55 20.21 100 0.89 5.05 3 RESULTS 3.1 Morphology of TiO 2 NTs The morphology of the TiO 2 NTs was evaluated with SEM. Analyses indicate the different diameters of the TiO 2 NTs (Figure 2), i.e., 15 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm with standard deviations of 20 %, 10 % and 5 %, respec- tively, that were achieved by changing the anodization potential used in the electrochemical anodization (Ta- ble 1). The topographical features of the Ti foil used as a substrate for the growth of NTs, as well as of the TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm diameter were investigated by AFM, as presented in Figure 3. The AFM analysis of Ti foil shows that the surface is not fully uniform, and some vertical distortions (vertical roughness) are observed with the AFM (Figure 3a). The average surface rough- ness measured on a (5×5) μm area was about 35 nm. On the surface of the 100-nm-diameter TiO 2 NTs, features were clearly observed with the AFM, as the size of the nanotube diameter was sufficiently wide to enable the tip penetration inside the hollow nanotube interior, which was not possible for TiO 2 NTs with a smaller diameter, such as the TiO 2 NTs with 15 nm in diameter and TiO 2 NTs with a 50 nm in diameter. The average roughness measured on a (5×5) μm area for TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in diameter was about 47 nm. However, it should be noted that this value is not entirely representative, as the AFM tip could only enter up to a limited length of the nanotube (as previously shown (8), the length of the TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in diameter is about 3.5 μm as evalu- ated from SEM analysis). More importantly, the AFM results clearly show the opened hollow structure of the TiO 2 NTs as well as the slight deviations in their height, about 200 nm, as observed from the 3D image (Fig- ure 3b). M. KULKARNI et al.: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 55 (2021) 1, 19–24 21 Figure 2: SEM images of the top surface of TiO 2 NTs (size of the scale bar=500 nm) Figure 1: Schematic representation of contacts of the Berkovich in- denter and TiO 2 NTs in the nano-indentation test Table 1: Influence of the anodization conditions used on the morphology (diameter and length) of TiO 2 NTs Diameter (nm) Electrolyte Potential (V) Anodization time (h) Length (μm) 15 EG+8M H2 O+0.2M HF 10 2.5 0.22 50 EG+8M H2 O+0.2M HF 20 2.5 1.10 100 EG+8M H2 O+0.2M HF 58 2.5 3.50 The 3D topography of the titanium substrate (Ti foil) surface is also obtained by in-situ SPM, see Figure 4a and shows a non-negligible roughness of the sample. The average roughness of the Ti substrate surface was around 49 nm. Similarly, Figures 4b and 4c show the in-situ SPM images of 100-nm-diameter TiO 2 nanotubes sur- face. 3.1.1 Crystal structure of TiO 2 NTs Raman spectroscopy provides very important infor- mation about the Raman-active vibrational modes related to the Ti-Ti, Ti-O and O-O bonds in TiO 2 . It is well known that anatase TiO 2 gives a strong Raman signal at 144 cm 1 followed by low intensity peaks at (197, 394-399, 513/514, 519 and 635-641) cm 1 , whereas rutile TiO 2 gives Raman signals at 143, 236/242, 446/447 and 610/613 cm 1 . 17 19 The Raman spectra for all TiO 2 samples of different diameters are presented in Figure 5. All the spectra show broad bands and no clear spectral characteristics of anatase or the rutile phase of TiO 2 . Thus, the TiO 2 nanotubes produced in our electrochemi- cal anodization process are of an amorphous nature 20 The broad bands appearing near 284 cm 1 and in the range 430–630 cm 1 in all the spectra can be assigned to O–O interactions consistent with the TiO 6 8 octahedral structure and the Ti-O interactions, respectively.(19) A sharp peak appearing at 143/144 cm 1 in the spectrum of the TiO 2 NTs with 15-nm diameter can be considered to arise from slightly rutile/anatase phase of TiO 2 nano- tubes due to Ti–Ti covalent interactions. This feature tends to cease, and the amorphous nature tends to be more prominent as the tube diameter increases to 50 nm and 100 nm. The weak band near 840 cm 1 can be as- signed as the first overtone of the 143/144 cm 1 band. 21 The XRD patterns for the different diameter as-grown TiO 2 NT arrays as well as for the substrate ma- terial (Ti foil) are presented in Figure 6. After the elec- trochemical anodization, no crystalline phase is detected for the as-grown NTs, thus further confirming their amorphous state. Comparing the patterns of the TiO 2 NTs with that of the substrate materials only peaks char- acteristic for the Ti substrate materials are detected. These results are in agreement with the previous report. 22 3.1.2 Nanoindentation studies The mechanical stability of the implant is an essential factor to maintain its long-term success. In the present study, the mechanical properties of TiO 2 NTs with differ- M. KULKARNI et al.: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES 22 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 55 (2021) 1, 19–24 Figure 5: Raman spectra of TiO 2 NTs with various diameters. T=Ti substrate Figure 3: AFM images of: a) Ti foil, b) TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in di- ameter. Zoomed region (along vertical z-direction) shows further topo- logical details Figure 4: In-situ SPM images: a) 3D topography of titanium foil, b) map of gradients of forces obtained from TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in diameter sample and c) 3D topography of the area demarcated by a black square in the picture from b) ent lengths and diameters (Table 1) were measured with a Berkovich indenter. Values of E and HV (calculated from apparent indentation hardness HIT) were calibrated from contact depths hc=5nmandhc = 35 nm, respec- tively (Figure 7). 16 In this work, the elastic modulus increases with de- creasing diameter of the TiO 2 NTs, and with decreasing length as well. The evaluated E is 8.7±4.2 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in diameter, 10.3±4.6 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 50 nm in diameter and 19.2±4.3 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 15 nm in diameter (Figure 8). Y.N. Xu et al. 23 reported an elastic modulus of 5.1 GPa for longer TiO 2 NTs ( 8.5 μm), with a diameter of 199 nm and a wall thickness of 14.3 nm. However, the elastic modulus of the 15-nm- and 50-nm-diameter TiO 2 NTs evaluated in the present study is similar to that of bone, which is 11–30 GPa. 24 It has been reported that the hardness of films is de- pendent on their adhesion to the substrate, i.e., the higher the hardness, the higher the adhesion. 25 In present study, Hv increases with decreasing length/diameter of the NTs; therefore, TiO 2 NTs of 15 nm in diameter exhibit the highest adhesion strength to the substrate (Figure 9). Since adhesion is higher for smaller diameter TiO 2 NTs, it follows that such nanostructures are also more resistant to mechanical wear. 26 However, the Hv values are consis- tent with the existing reported values. For instance, Y. N. Xu et al. 23 reported a hardness of 0.094 GPa for longer TiO 2 NTs (diameter: approx. 199 nm, wall thickness: 1 approx. 14.3 nm and length: approx. 8.5 μm). In the present study, Hv is 0.45±0.09 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 15 nm in diameter, 0.16±0.06 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 50 nm in diameter and 0.12±0.08 GPa for TiO 2 NTs with 100 nm in diameter. The average Hv of the Ti foil is 3.8 ±0.3 GPa. 4 CONCLUSIONS Amorphous, as-formed TiO 2 NTs with diameters of 15 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm were prepared by electro- chemical anodization. The nano-indentation studies re- vealed that the elastic modulus and Vickers hardness of the TiO 2 NTs increased with the decreasing length/diam- eter of the TiO 2 NTs (as a reference, a Ti foil was mea- sured). The elastic modulus of 15 nm and 50 nm diame- ter TiO 2 nanotubes is similar to the elastic modulus of the human bone. The Vickers hardness of the 15-nm-di- ameter TiO 2 nanotubes exhibits the highest adhesion strength to the substrate. These results indicate that the TiO 2 NTs with smaller diameters are more resistant to mechanical wear. Such materials can be used in medical M. KULKARNI et al.: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ANODIC TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 55 (2021) 1, 19–24 23 Figure 6: X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of Ti substrate and TiO 2 NTs with various diameters (T=Ti substrate) Figure 9: Depth profiles of calculated Vickers hardness. The Vickers hardness was calculated from the measured apparent indentation hard- ness HV (GPa) = 0.92666*HIT Figure 7: Calibration values of E and H vs. contact depth on fused quartz sample Figure 8: Depth profile of Young’s modulus applications, such as orthopaedic implants or drug-deliv- ery systems. 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