Improving structural, tribological and electrochemical properties of Ti6Al4V alloy with B-doped TiO2 thin films

B-doped TiO2 coatings with different B:Ti molar ratios were produced on Ti6Al4V alloy by a sol-gel dip-coating in order to improve tribological and electrochemical properties of Ti6Al4V. The properties of films were evaluated by XRD, XPS, SEM, surface tension-meter, tribotester and EIS. The highest roughness and hardness were obtained from B:Ti molar ratio of 2:1 TiO2 thin-film. TiO2 and B-doped TiO2 improved the wear resistance. While the mean CoF of Ti6Al4V was 0.39, TiO2 films reduced CoF significantly. B-doped TiO2 showed higher wear resistance than substrate and TiO2-film. Corrosion resistance was enhanced by TiO2 and the increasing B molar ratio provided improvement. The surface state changed after coatings. While TiO2 film showed hydrophobic behavior, B-doped all films exhibited hydrophilic characteristics. •The effect of B-doped TiO2 coatings on Ti6Al4V alloy were investigated.•Ti6Al4V samples were coated with TiO2 in different B:Ti molar ratios.•The increasing B ratio increased the hydrophilicity of thin films.•B-doping improved the mechanical, tribological and electrochemical performance of TiO2.