Tribocorrosion mechanisms of Ti6Al4V biomedical alloys in artificial saliva with different pHs

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys has been widely used for the design of dental implants because of its biocompatibility, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. The powder-metallurgy process is a promising alternative to the casting fabrication process of titanium alloys for bone implants design as the porous structure mimics the natural bone structures, allowing the bone to grow into the pores which results in a better fixation of the artificial implant. However, under in vivo conditions the implants are subjected to tribocorrosion phenomenon, which consists in the degradation mechanisms due to the combined effect of wear and corrosion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the tribocorrosion behaviour of cast and sintered Ti6Al4V biomedical alloy for dental applications using the cast material as reference. Titanium samples were tested in artificial human saliva solution with three different pHs (3, 6, 9) and in an acidic saliva with 1000 ppm fluorides (AS-3-1000F−) by different electrochemical techniques (potentiodynamic curves, potentiostatic tests and tribo-electrochemical tests). Cast and sintered titanium alloys exhibit the same tribocorrosion mechanisms in AS independently of the pH which consists in plastic deformation with passive dissolution, but the addition of fluorides to the acidified solution changes the degradation mechanism towards active dissolution of the titanium alloys.