Effects of Adding Silver Oxide Nanoparticles to Anodized Titanium Surfaces

The present study aimed to analyze the effects of the anodization process and addition of silver nanoparticles by sealing process on corrosion resistance and biofilm formation in titanium. For this purpose, CP grade 2 titanium samples were pickled and anodized in Psidium Guajava-based electrolyte, in galvanostatic mode with the application of 0.1 mA/cm2 for 300 s. For the incorporation of silver nanoparticles, the sealing process was used. The sealing of the anodized samples was performed in sodium carbonate solution without and with the addition of 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mM AgNO3, for 30 minutes at a temperature of 75 ºC. The samples were characterized regarding their morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), corrosion resistance by potentiodynamic polarization, and bactericidal action by optical density microtiteration. The anodizing process resulted in the formation of an oxide layer (TiO2), with greater surface roughness and better anticorrosive performance, compared to pure titanium. The sealing process proved to be effective for incorporating silver into the anodized titanium surface, at all concentrations evaluated, inhibiting the proliferation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, favoring the bactericidal effect.