A review of functionalizing plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings on titanium substrates with laser surface treatments

Nowadays, hybrid surface modification techniques are desirable approaches that are widely used to enhance the corrosion and wear behavior and biocompatibility of titanium dental and orthopedic implants. Laser processing is an effective, facile method with high flexibility, accuracy, and controllability for surface modification of titanium implant materials. Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is a cost-effective and eco-friendly process that can enhance the surface of valve metals like titanium, zirconium, magnesium, and aluminum, as well as non-valve metals such as zinc and niobium. This is achieved by creating thick, hard coatings that are resistant to both corrosion and wear, similar to ceramics. This review focuses on the improvement of anti-corrosion and anti-wear behavior, as well as the biocompatibility of titanium and its alloys through laser surface pre- or post-treatments involving laser surface melting (LSM) and laser surface texturing (LST), combined with PEO technology.