title: Fabrication of Ni-Ti-O nanotube arrays by anodization of NiTi alloy and their potential applications.
abstract: Nickel-titanium-oxide (Ni-Ti-O) nanotube arrays (NTAs) prepared on nearly equiatomic NiTi alloy shall have broad application potential such as for energy storage and biomedicine, but their precise structure control is a great challenge because of the high content of alloying element of Ni, a non-valve metal that cannot form a compact electronic insulating passive layer when anodized. In the present work, we systemically investigated the influence of various anodization parameters on the formation and structure of Ni-Ti-O NTAs and their potential applications. Our results show that well controlled NTAs can be fabricated during relatively wide ranges of the anodization voltage (5-90 V), electrolyte temperature (10-50°C) and electrolyte NH4F content (0.025-0.8 wt%) but within a narrow window of the electrolyte H2O content (0.0-1.0 vol%). Through modulating these parameters, the Ni-Ti-O NTAs with different diameter (15-70 nm) and length (45-1320 nm) can be produced in a controlled manner. Regarding potential applications, the Ni-Ti-O NTAs may be used as electrodes for electrochemical energy storage and non-enzymic glucose detection, and may constitute nanoscaled biofunctional coating to improve the biological performance of NiTi based biomedical implants.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Ruiqiang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hang
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Yanlian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University No. 145 West Changle Road, Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Lingzhou
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Surface Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology No. 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan 030024, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chu