Electrochemical response of ZrO2 incorporated titanium oxide film

The electrochemical characteristics of ZrO2 incorporated titanium oxide film on pure titanium were investigated via high energy plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coating. To incorporate ZrO2 particles into the titanium oxide film, ZrO2 particles dispersed in the K3PO4 electrolyte were used in the study, which was compared to the result without ZrO2 particles. After the PEO process at a current density of 200 mA cm(-2), most of the ZrO2 particles migrated toward the anodic titanium surface due to electrophoresis, giving rise to much denser titanium oxide film compared to the counterpart without ZrO2 particles. The electrochemical analyses based on the impedance measurements showed that the corrosion resistance of the ZrO2 incorporated titanium oxide film would be improved significantly. The electrochemical response was analysed quantitatively in the context of the equivalent circuit model, which comprised the two individual oxide films acting as both a capacitor and a resistor.