EX-SITU SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE MODIFICATION OF TITANIUM SURFACE DUE TO CORROSION PROCESSES

Scanning tunneling microscopy was implemented for the comparative surf ace investigation of mechanically polished and electrochemically treat ed titanium samples. The titanium exposed to the phosphate buffered sa line solution reveal the increased topography roughness (5-15 nm) of o xide thin layer on its surface. The introduction of H2O2 into the solu tion leads to the enhanced dissolution of the titanium oxide film resu lting in a more defective surface. The I(V) dependencies obtained from spectroscopic measurements are indicative of the semiconducting prope rties of the thin oxide layer.