Fabrication of Hydroxyapatite Coating on Commercially Pure Ti by Electrophoretic Deposition Technique

Hydroxyapatite (HA) coating was deposited on commercially pure Ti to improve its biocompatibility as a biomedical implant material. The HA layer was deposited by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method. The processing parameters controlled the HA structure. In this research, the applied voltage was varied 20, 30, and 40 V to optimize a free-crack layer. The current output during EPD at 20 V was in the order of 10-5 A/cm2. A higher current density in the order of 10-4 A/cm2 was obtained at 30 and 40 V. The coating formed at 20 V was relatively free of crack. A high number of cracks began to observe in the layer formed at 30 V, while only a few cracks were revealed on the layer formed at 40 V. The average thickness of the HA layer increased slightly with applied voltage. The thickness was approximately 40±5 µm, as observed by an optical microscope. The optimum voltage to produce a thick HA layer with a small number of cracks was at 40 V.