TiO2 Thick Films by Electrophoretic Deposition

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is similar to electrochemical plating although, instead of deposition from solution, particles are deposited from suspension. It is possible to produce thin and thick films of very consistent thickness, even on irregularly shaped substrates, with very short deposition times. Also, the equipment necessary to deposit the films consists solely of a relatively inexpensive power supply. However, the films are only physically bonded to the substrate and permanent chemical adhesion must be effected by firing, which can have deleterious results on the mechanical properties of metallic substrates. In the present work, EPD has been used to deposit TiO2 films on high-purity Ti foil substrates (50 μm thickness), followed by sintering. Commercial TiO2 powder (Millenium Chemicals) of spherical morphology and particle diameter ~250 nm were dispersed in the non-aqueous medium acetyl acetone (5 g solid in 50 mL liquid) and deposited