*2.3. Characterization*

The morphology, phase analysis, and chemical composition of the obtained PCL/TiO2 coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Hitachi, S-4300, Tokyo, Japan) attached with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX, Thermo Noran, Sonora, CA, USA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD, D8 DISCOVER, Bruker, Billerica, MA, USA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR, Perkin-Elmer Spectrum Two spectroscopy) respectively. Morphological analysis of the surface before and after coatings were examined by SEM, operated at an accelerating voltage ranging from 10–15 kV. To avoid any 'charging' and increase conductivity, the dry substrates were sputter-coated for 30 s with a thin deposits of gold (Au) before observing in SEM. XRD (at 2θ = 10◦–90◦) is used for analyzing the phases present in the synthesized nanocomposites coatings with Cu-Kα radiation (λ = 1.540 Å)

at a scanning rate of 0.1 step/s. To analyse the chemical composition, FT-IR measurements were performed over a range of 4000–500 cm−1. To identify functional groups of the synthesized samples, KBr powder is mixed and made of pellets. In addition, surface wettability was calculated by measuring static contact angles of deionized water with a contact angle system (Easy DROP, KRUSS, Stuttgart, Germany) at the ambient temperature. For each set of samples, a 10 μL drop of water was deposited on each substrate and allowed to rest for 5 s.
