Laser Treatment of Pure Titanium Surface in Various Irradiated Media: Investigating Hardness Properties of Ablated Ti Surface

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

Abstract

 Titanium (Ti) has poor tribological and mechanical properties such as low hardness and wear resistance. In this study, we considerably improve Ti’s hardness by laser ablation method. Ambient air, N2 gas chamber and N2/liquid water environments were separately selected as irradiation environments and their effect was comparatively studied on Ti treatment surfaces. The fabrication of titanium nitride (TiN) structure was successfully confirmed by XRD analysis in N2 gas and N2/liquid water as irradiation media. Accordingly, there was good adhesion between TiN structure and Ti’s surface. Vickers hardness test indicated the laser treatment and TiN structure significantly improved Ti’s hardness. The formed TiN structure in N2/liquid water environment had the highest hardness value of 530Hv comparing to hardness of ablated Ti in N2 gas (370Hv) and air (340Hv). The escalation of Ti hardness and generation of TiN structure with lasertreatment in N2/liquid water environment is a favorable aspect of this method. 

Keywords


[1] Y. Chen, J. Zhang, N. Dai, P. Qin, H. Attar, L.C. Zhang, Corrosion behaviour of selective laser melted Ti-TiB biocomposite in simulated body fluid, Electrochim. Acta, 232 (2017) 89-97.
[2] C. Cui, B. Hu, L. Zhao, S. Liu, Titanium alloy production technology, market prospects and industry development, Mater. Des., 32(3) (2011) 1684-1691.
[3] M.S.F. Lima, F. Folio, S. Mischler, Microstructure and surface properties of laser-remelted titanium nitride coatings on titanium, Surf. Coat. Technol., 199(1) (2005) 83-91.
[4] B. Guo, J. Zhou, S. Zhang, H. Zhou, Y. Pu, J. Chen, Microstructure and tribological properties of in situ synthesized TiN/Ti3Al intermetallic matrix composite coatings on titanium by laser cladding and laser nitriding, Mater. Sci. Eng. A,
480(1-2) (2008) 404-410.
[5] P. Schaaf, Laser nitriding of metals, Prog. Mater. Sci., 47(1) (2002) 1-161.
[6] J. Feng, H. Xiao, Tribocorrosion behavior of laser cladded Ti-Al-(C, N) composite coatings in artificial aeawater, Coatings, 12 (2022) 187.
[7] M. Landowski, In uence of parameters of laser beam welding on structure of 2205 duplex stainless steel, Adv. Mater. Sci., 19 (2019) 21-31.
[8] S. Xiang, S. Ren, Y. Liang, X. Zhang, Fabrication of titanium carbide-reinforced iron matrix composites using electropulsing-assisted ash sintering, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 768 (2019) 138459.
[9] J.-H. Lee, J.-H. Jang, B.-D. Joo, Y.-M. Son, Y.-H. Moon, Laser surface hardening of AISI H13 tool steel, Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China, 19(4) (2009) 917-920.
[10] R. Chowdhury, R.D. Vispute, K. Jagannadham, J. Narayan, Characteristics of titanium nitride films grown by pulsed laser deposition, J. Mater. Res., 11(6) (1996) 1458-1469.
[11] H. Guo, W. Chen, Y. Shan, W. Wang, Z. Zhang, J. Jia, Microstructures and properties of titanium nitride films prepared by pulsed laser deposition at different substrate temperatures, Appl. Surf. Sci., 357 (Part A) (2015) 473-478.
[12] H.O. Pierson, Handbook of Chemical Vapor Deposition: Principles, Technology and Applications, William Andrew, (1999).
[13] W.D. Sproul, Physical vapor deposition tool coatings, Surf. Coat. Technol., 81(1) (1996) 1-7.
[14] M. Flores, L. Huerta, R. Escamilla, E. Andrade, S. Muhl, Effect of substrate bias voltage on corrosion of TiN/Ti multilayers deposited by magnetron sputtering, Appl. Surf. Sci., 253(17) (2007) 7192-7196.
[15] M. Jin, S. Yao, L.-N. Wang, Y. Qiao, A.A. Volinsky, Enhanced bond strength and bioactivity of interconnected 3D TiO2 nanoporous layer on titanium implants, Surf. Coat. Technol., 304 (2016) 459-467.
[16] Z. Zhao, P. Hui, T. Wang, X. Wang, Y. Xu, L. Zhong, M. Zhao, New strategy to grow TiC coatings on titanium alloy: Contact solid carburization by cast iron, J. Alloys Compd., 745 (2018) 637-643.
[17] L. Ge, N. Tian, Z. Lu, C. You, In uence of the surface nanocrystallization on the gas nitriding of Ti6Al4V alloy, Appl. Surf. Sci., 286 (2013) 412-416.
[18] Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, J. Zhang, Y. Liu, X. Yang, Q. Zhang, Micromachining features of TiC ceramic by femtosecond pulsed laser, Ceram. Int., 41(5) (2015) 6525-6533.
[19] D. Hche, H. Schikora, H. Zutz, R. Queitsch, A. Emmel, P. Schaaf, Microstructure of TiN coatings synthesized by direct pulsed Nd: YAG laser nitriding of titanium: Development of grain size, microstrain, and grain orientation, Appl. Phys. A,
91 (2008) 305-314.
[20] N. Ohtsu, W. Saito, M. Yamane, Thickness of titanium nitride layers formed by focused low-power pulsed Nd: YAG laser irradiation in nitrogen atmospheres, Surf. Coat. Technol., 244 (2014) 57-62.
[21] G.W. Yang, Laser ablation in liquids: Applications in the synthesis of nanocrystals, Prog. Mater. Sci., 52(4) (2007) 648-698.
[22] J.C. Guo, Y. Shi, Y.F. Gu, G. Zhang, Study of spectral emissions characterization and plasma during fiber laser gas Nitriding of titanium alloy, Spectrosc. Spectr. Anal., 42(03) (2022) 961-969.
[23] V. Girzhon, O. Smolyakov, O. Ovchinnikov, O. Zavgorodny, Laser surface strengthening of heatresistant titanium alloy for gas turbine engines, Metallofiz. Noveishie Tekhnol., 44(3) (2022) 383- 391.
[24] N. Ohtsu, R. Endo, S. Takeda, K. Miura, K. Kobayashi, An open-atmosphere nitriding process for titanium using a watt-level pulsed Nd: YAG laser, Surf. Coat. Technol., 438 (2022) 128362.
[25] M.N.R. Ashfold, F. Claeyssens, G.M. Fuge, S.J. Henley, Pulsed laser ablation and deposition of thin films, Chem. Soc. Rev., 33(1) (2004) 23-31.
[26] N. Bakhtiari, S. Azizian, B. Feizi Mohazzab, B. Jaleh, One-step fabrication of brass filter with reversible wettability by nanosecond fiber laser ablation for highly efficient oil/water separation, Sep. Purif. Technol., 259 (2021) 118139.
[27] B. Feizi Mohazzab, B. Jaleh, O. Kakuee, A. Fattah-Alhosseini, Formation of titanium carbide on the titanium surface using laser ablation in nheptane and investigating its corrosion resistance, Appl. Surf. Sci., 478 (2019) 623-635.
[28] C. Wang, J. Hong, M. Cui, H. Huang, L. Zhang, J. Yan, The effects of simultaneous laser nitriding and texturing on surface hardness and tribological properties of Ti6Al4V, Surf. Coat. Technol., 437 (2022) 128358.
[29] S.S. Liu, M. Zhang, G.L. Zhao, X.H. Wang, J.F. Wang, Microstructure and properties of ceramic particle reinforced FeCoNiCrMnTi high entropy alloy laser cladding coating, Intermetallics, 140 (2022) 107402.
[30] C.W. Chan, S. Lee, G.C. Smith, C. Donaghy, Fibre laser nitriding of titanium and its alloy in open atmosphere for orthopaedic implant applications: Investigations on surface quality, microstructure and tribological properties, Surf. Coat. Technol., 309 (2017) 628-640.
[31] E. Shabanlou, B. Jaleh, B. Feizi Mohazzab, O. Kakuee, R. Golbedaghi, Y. Orooji, TiN formation on Ti target by laser ablation method under different N
2 gas pressure and laser scanning cycles: A wettability study, Surf. Interfaces, 27 (2021) 101509.
[32] I.B. Butler, M.A.A. Schoonen, D.T. Rickard, Removal of dissolved oxygen from water: a comparison of four common techniques, Talanta, 41(2) (1994) 211-215.
[33] Y. Liu, P. Chen, Y. Fan, Y. Fan, X. Shi, G. Cui, B. Tang, Grey rutile TiO
2 with long-term photocatalytic activity synthesized via two-step calcination, Nanomaterials, 10(5) (2020) 920.
[34] S. Niyomsoan, W. Grant, D.L. Olson, B. Mishra, Variation of color in titanium and zirconium nitride decorative thin films, Thin Solid Films, 415(1-2) (2002) 187-194.
[35] D. von der Linde, K. Sokolowski-Tinten, The physical mechanisms of short-pulse laser ablation, Appl. Surf. Sci., 154-155 (2000) 1-10.
[36] S. Zhu, Y.F. Lu, M.H. Hong, X.Y. Chen, Laser ablation of solid substrates in water and ambient air, J. Appl. Phys., 89(4) (2001) 2400-2403.
[37] S. Barcikowski, A. Men´eendez-Manjn, B. Chichkov, M. Brikas, G. Raciukaitis, Generation of nanoparticle colloids by picosecond and femtosecond laser ablations in liquid ow, Appl. Phys. Lett., 91(8) (2007) 083113.
[38] B. Feizi Mohazzab, B. Jaleh, A. Fattah-alhosseini, F. Mahmoudi, A. Momeni, Laser surface treatment of pure titanium: Microstructural analysis, wear properties, and corrosion behavior of titanium carbide coatings in Hank’s physiological solution, Surf. Interfaces, 20 (2020) 100597.
[39] A.M. Mostafa, M.F. Hameed, S.S. Obayya, Effect of laser shock peening on the hardness of AL-7075 alloy, J. King Saud Univ. Sci., 31(4) (2019) 472-478.