NanoSurfaces S.r.l., Italy

The main business of NanoSurfaces is to transfer and promote the advanced research in the field of the surface modification treatments of titanium and its alloys in order to improve mechanical, aesthetic, environmental and biocompatible properties of materials.

Today NanoSurfaces owns four different surface treatment processes based on Titanium anodization or on Titanium dioxide sol-gel: BioRough™, TiColor™, TiHard™ and TiClean™

• TiClean™/strong> is a sol-gel treatment based on nanostructured titanium dioxide with photocatalytic, antibacterial and hydrophilic properties.
  
  TiClean™, which was developed in collaboration with Università di Parma, is an aqueous solution (sol) of nanostructured titanium dioxide: suitably trained workers can apply the sol on several substrates by different techniques, such as spraying or dipping. After the solvent evaporation, a transparent, adherent film forms either in a few days at room temperature or in a few hours at medium temperature; if exposed to natural or artificial solar light or to UV lamps irradiation, the film becomes hydrophilic, which leads to a decreased soiling of the surface in time, and photocatalytic, thus promoting the decomposition of toxic and smelly products generated by pollution, cigarette smoke and food cooking, which also hinders bacterial growth. The product is optimized to coat metallic surfaces (aluminium panels, cleaning filters), polymers (laminates), ceramic surfaces (tiles, glasses) and tissues.
• BioRough™ is a low temperature chemical mordanting treatment to increase dental implants osseointegration.
  In the last decade oral implants experienced a market revolution, specially as far as surface finishing technology is considered, in order to assure an improved osseointegration. NanoSurfaces has developed and performed on countless implants an innovative treatment, BioRough™, based on a double chemical etching, that involves a first step of surface decontamination from mechanical processes residuals and the removal of flashes and upsettings, which can be a breeding-ground for contaminating agents: this step doesn’t affect the implant geometry, since thread crests are not exceedingly rounded off, and fatigue resistance is preserved. Moreover, a micro-geometry is produced, composed by crests and roots, which was proved to clinically favour the osseointegration cellular processes by creating the so called morphological biomimesis.
• TiColor™ is an anodic oxidation process of titanium and its alloys for design and architectural applications.
  
  TiColor™ is a particular electrochemical treatment involving the anodic oxidation of titanium surfaces: the gradual thickening of the native oxide film assures the obtaining of a wide range of interference colours, whose hue depends on the film thickness, which in turn is determined by anodizing process parameters. A long-lasting maintaining of the created colours is assured. TiColor™ can be produced on simple or complex shapes having various dimensions. Depending on the surface finishing of titanium and on specific treatment methods, different brightness levels and surface effects can be achieved on both monochromic colorations (showing elevated saturation and brightness) and fancy colorations (rainbows and stripes). This treatment is intended for several applications in the design and architecture fields, as well as for colour-coding purposes.

  It is also possible to operate the treatment on composite panels, by limiting the anodizing process to the thin external titanium layer: the panels assure stiffness, lightness and low costs, and can undergo profiling processes which make them suitable to realize either ventilated facades or various types of home furnishings.

• TiHard™ is the surface hardening of titanium and its alloys aimed at increasing their resistance to fretting corrosion, wear and grip.
  
  One of the main limits of titanium is its scarce resistance to fretting corrosion. In order to reduce these phenomena (as well as to improve titanium anti-grip properties) new surface treatments were developed, based on Anodic Spark Deposition, intended to generate a fairly thick, compact titanium oxide film exhibiting enhanced surface hardness, which would improve the considered properties. The so obtained thick oxide also shows an insulating behavior. TiHard™ treatments are currently applied in high-level automobile industry to produce motor components, nuts and bolts, in aeronautics and in fashion accessories.