Wetting behaviour of femtosecond laser textured Ti-6Al-4V surfaces

• Main Author: Cunha, Alexandre
• Publication Date: 2013
• Other Authors: Serro, Ana Paula, Oliveira, Vitor, Almeida, Amélia, Vilar, Rui, DURRIEU, Marie-Christine
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/2788
• topic: Wetting behaviour; Femtosecond lasers; Surface texturing; Surface anisotropy; Ti-6Al-4V implants; Biological model fluids; AL2O3-TIC ceramics; Titanium implants; Contact angles; Solid-surfaces; Power-law; Irradiation; Morphology; Ablation; Mineralization

The aim of the present work was to investigate the wetting behaviour of biomedical grade Ti-6Al-4V alloy surfaces textured by a femtosecond laser treatment. The material was treated in ambient atmosphere using an Yb: KYW chirped-pulse-regenerative amplification laser with a wavelength of 1030 nm and a pulse duration of 500 fs. Four main types of surface textures were obtained depending on the processing parameters and laser treatment method. These textures consist of: (1) nanoscale laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS); (2) nanopillars; (3) a bimodal roughness distribution texture formed of LIPSS overlapping microcolumns; (4) a complex texture formed of LIPSS overlapping microcolumns with a periodic variation of the columns size in the laser scanning direction. The wettability of the surfaces was evaluated by the sessile drop method using distilled-deionized (DD) water and Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) as testing liquids. The laser treated surfaces present a hydrophilic behaviour as well as a high affinity for the saline solution, with equilibrium contact angles in the ranges 24.1-76.2. for DD water and 8.4-61.8. for HBSS. The wetting behaviour is anisotropic, reflecting the anisotropy of the surface textures. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.