Biomimetic coatings on fiber laser modified Ti-6Al-4V surfaces

This study compares and analyses the properties of Ti-6Al-4V surfaces affected by a fiber laser with two different output power levels (6.7 and 13.5 W). The fiber laser modified Ti-6Al-4V samples were immersed in a modified artificial simulated body fluid (m-SBF) solution and a supersaturated 1.5 m-SBF for a period of time to evaluate their bioactivity and biomimetic bone-like apatite coating performances, respectively. The results revealed that the surface morphology, hardness and hydrophilicity of Ti-6Al-4V were improved after laser modification, and a 13.5W-treated sample had a relatively higher hardness value and more outstanding hydrophilicity compared with its 6.7W-treated counterpart. Furthermore, the laser treated samples were found to have a more favorable Ca and P inducibility in the m-SBF, where crystallized hydroxyapatite-rich bone-like apatite was found on their surfaces after immersing them in the m-SBF solution for a period of time. This bone-like apatite layer can be rapidly grown on the specimens when immersed in the 1.5 m-SBF solution for only 3 days, indicating its favorable biomimetic coating efficiency.