Innovation in the Electrophoretic Deposition of TiO2 Using Different Stabilizing Agents and Zeta Potential

Abstract

Surface engineering is gaining increasing relevance in various industrial sectors and in research, and in this sense, zeta potential measurements, being a physicochemical parameter of interface, are key to linking the functionality of a coating with its application environment. In this work, different stabilizing agents with different chemical structure and electrical charge were used to improve the stability of the TiO2 particles. The influence of the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) parameters (potential and deposition time) and the concentration of chitosan and TiO2 in suspension were studied to find the best deposition performance on the titanium substrate. The composition and structure of the coatings were evaluated by infrared spectroscopies (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that the TiO2 particles were dispersed in the chitosan matrix through simultaneous deposition. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical polarization curves, indicating a higher corrosion resistance of TiO2 and TiO2-chitosan coatings compared to the pure titanium substrate in a solution of sulfuric acid