Characterization of oxide layers on Ti6Al4V and titanium by streaming potential and streaming current measurements

Titanium and titanium alloys (e.g. Ti6Al4V) are increasingly used as medical implant materials in a wide variety of applications. So far, many surface properties of the passive layer considered to explain interactions with biological tissues are deduced from those of the crystalline phases of titanium dioxide (anatase, rutile, brookite), but do not necessarily correspond to those of naturally formed amorphous passive layers. We report on streaming potential and streaming current measurements on oxide layers on Ti6A14V and Ti, carried out using a microslit electrokinetic set-up (MES) and a commercial electrokinetic analyzer (EKA, PAAR). Passive and anodic oxide layers on Ti6Al4V, as well as passive layers on titanium sputtered on glass, were investigated in this study. Isoelectric points (IEP) of approximate to 4.4 were found for all oxide layers. The IEP of the air-formed passive layer on Ti6A14V did not depend on the KCl concentration. Hence, it was concluded that IEP is here identical to the point of zero charge (pzc). Controversially, the charge formation process seems to depend on the chloride ion concentration in the neutral and basic pH region. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.