Morphology and Wetting Behavior of Atmospheric Plasma Sprayed Titanium Dioxide

This study investigates the effect of surface morphology on the wetting behavior of atmospheric plasma sprayed (APS) titanium dioxide. It is shown that with appropriate control of particle temperature and velocity and the use of stearic acid treatments, it is possible to achieve TiO₂ surfaces with water contact angles as high as 144°, which is close to a superhydrophobic state. Such coatings were found to exhibit a rough and irregular surface morphology and were obtained by increasing particle velocity while reducing particle temperature.