Formation of Piezoelectric Coatings on Titanium by Laser Processing with TiO2/SrCO3 Powder

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in orthopedic and dental implantology for their corrosion resistance and biocompatibility supporting osseointegration; however, their usage is accompanied by release of wear debris that may induce inflammatory responses. The necessity of formation of multifunctional coatings that accelerate osseointegration and provide long-term mechanical stability of titanium implants remains highly relevant. We propose a new simple and scalable coating method based on the laser shock processing technique, with TiO2 and SrCO3 powder mix used as an absorption layer. Our results show that this treatment created an approximately 158.3 ± 35.8 μm thick coating consisting of a mixed SrTiO3-TiO2 phase. The hardness of this coating evaluated by Vickers microhardness measurements showed a hardness increase of 3.3 times compared to the initial titanium substrate. Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) analysis revealed the presence of a reverse piezoelectric effect in the obtained structure confirming the highly likely successful synthesis of coating impregnated with SrTiO3. This piezoelectric coating can be readily deposited onto titanium substrates using the proposed method, enabling exploration of potential biomedical applications in future research.