Apatite formation on rutile and anatase layers derived by hydrolysis of titanylsulfate in a simulated body fluid

Titania layers were deposited on titanium substrates in titanylsulfate solutions under varied concentration (0.01 and 0.03M), pH (0.67-1.27) and temperature (60 and 80°C). They were rinsed and subsequently aged in water at 80°C for 3d. The layers consisted of only rutile or rutile with trace anatase, depending on the conditions. The X-ray diffraction intensity indicates that the rutile particles grew preferably in (101) plane, regardless of being aged or not. When aged, the anatase diffraction intensity increased, and anatase newly grew in the layer consisting only of rutile. When soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF) of the Kokubo recipe, the rinsed layer with only rutile was weakly active to deposit apatite within 5 d, while the other two exhibited no deposition. The aging improved activity. Although anatase is reported in the literature to be more active than rutile, the present study indicates that the rutile layer is more active. Thus, it is concluded that topotaxy or epitaxy would not work well but other issues like the presence of Ti-OH affect apatite deposition.