The Ti to TiO and TiO to anatase transformations induced by anodizing and annealing treatments of Ti thin film

Anatase phase of TiO ₂ has been shown to have very good biocompability. It was frequently observed on Ti surfaces after anodizing and thermal annealing treatments. Recently, it was shown that TiO can lead to the formation of anatase. In this report the mechanisms of the Ti to TiO and the TiO to anatase phase transitions in anodizing and annealing treatments of Ti have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. Ti thin films of two strong textures were first grown on the (001) _NaCl substrates. In addition to amorphous TiO ₂, the anodization treatment caused the formation of TiO with an orientation relationship of (1120) _Ti(220) _TiO with Ti. The subsequent thermal annealing treatment caused the TiO to anatase transition with an orientation relationship of {200} _TiO{200} _A. Pure anatase film was prepared by this method.