LASER MODIFICATION OF SURFACE PROPERTIES OF TI BASED COMPOSITES PREPARED VIA POWDER METALLURGY

The study deals with the evaluation of the laser-modified surfaces of the progressive Ti-based composite materials intended for dental implantology applications. Two powder metallurgy-processed experimental materials, namely Ti-TiB2 composite produced by the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) method and Ti-graphite composite produced by the Hot Vacuum Pressing (HVP) method, were investigated. The surface treatment of composites was carried out by nanosecond laser micromachining in atmospheric air, O2 and Ar gas environments at various flow rates. The influence of laser micromachining on the relationship between surface morphology, wettability and chemical composition has been experimentally investigated via contact angle (CA) measurement using the sessile drop technique, SEM and EDS analysis. The sufficient surface structures with increased hydrophilicity were successfully prepared via laser modification technique in air on Ti-TiB2 composite.