Patent ID: 8118923

Claim:
A process for functionalizing a titanium metal surface with nanometric particles of TiO 2 , the process comprising: immersing an article having a surface comprising titanium metal in the nanometric suspension of anatase TiO 2 produced by: i) reacting a titanium alkoxide with a polyethylene glycol; ii) heating the solution derived from step i) to remove at least a portion of any alcohol formed as a product of the reacting step; iii) adding a composition comprising water, a polyethylene glycol, and a polycondensation inhibitor to the solution derived from step ii), wherein the polycondensation inhibitor comprises a mixture of at least one mineral acid and at least one organic acid; and iv) heating the composition of step iii) under reflux to obtain the nanometric suspension of anatase TiO 2 ; removing the article from the suspension and heating the article to dry the article; and subjecting the article to a thermal cycle, wherein the thermal cycle comprises: subjecting the article to a rising temperature gradient of between 0.1 and 10° C./minute starting from ambient temperature up to a target temperature of between 400° and 850° C.; maintaining the target temperature for a period between 30 and 240 minutes; and cooling the article to ambient temperature.