Corrosion behavior of new quaternary ZrNbTiAl alloys in simulated physiological solution using electrochemical techniques and surface analysis methods

Spinodal Zr-Nb alloys with ultrahigh elastic admissible strain and low magnetic susceptibility for orthopedic applications

Metallic biomaterials, such as stainless steels, cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) alloys, and titanium (Ti) alloys, have long been used as load-bearing implant materials due to their metallic mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. However, their magnetic susceptibility and elastic modulus of more than 100 GPa significantly restrict their therapeutic applicability. In this study, spinodal Zr60Nb40, Zr50Nb50, and Zr40Nb60 (at.%) alloys were selected from the miscibility gap based on the Zr-Nb binary phase diagram and prepared by casting, cold rolling, and aging. Their microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, magnetic susceptibility, and biocompatibility were systematically evaluated. Spinodal decomposition to alternating nanoscale Zr-rich β1 and Nb-rich β2 phases occurred in the cold-rolled Zr-Nb alloys during aging treatment at 650 °C. In addition, a minor amount of α phase was precipitated in Zr60Nb40 due to the thermodynamic instability of the Zr-rich β1 phase. Spinodal decomposition significantly improved the mechanical strength of the alloys due to nanosized dual-cubic reinforcement. The Zr-Nb alloys showed an electrochemical corrosion rate of 94-262 nm per year in Hanks' solution because of formation of dense passive films composed of ZrO2 and Nb2O5 during the polarization process. The magnetic susceptibilities of the Zr-Nb alloys were significantly lower than those of commercial Co-Cr-Mo and Ti alloys. The cell viability of the Zr-Nb alloys was more than 98 % toward MC3T3-E1 cells. Overall, the spinodal Zr-Nb alloys have enormous potential as bone-implant materials due to their outstanding overall mechanical properties, extraordinary corrosion resistance, low magnetic susceptibility, and sufficient bicompatibility. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This work reports on spinodal Zr-Nb alloys with heterostructure. Spinodal decomposition significantly improved their mechanical strength due to the nanosized dual-cubic reinforcement. The Zr-Nb alloys showed large corrosion resistance in Hanks' solution because of formation of dense passivation films composed of ZrO2 and Nb2O5 during the polarization process. The magnetic susceptibilities of the Zr-Nb alloys were significantly lower than those of commercial Co-Cr-Mo and Ti alloys. The cell viability of the Zr-Nb alloys was more than 98 % toward MC3T3-E1 cells. The results demonstrate that spinodal Zr-Nb alloys have enormous potential as bone-implant materials due to their outstanding overall mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance, low magnetic susceptibility, and sufficient biocompatibility.

Corrosion of Al2O3-Ti composites under inflammatory condition in simulated physiological solution

Alumina-titanium composites have shown good mechanical properties which makes them promising for orthopedic applications. The placement of an orthopedic implant involves an invasive procedure which stimulates a localized inflammatory response causing an acidic environment around the implant. This makes the study on corrosion more critical. Therefore, the aim of the present paper was to study the corrosion behavior of the composites with 75 vol% and 50 vol% Ti content (with alumina balance) fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering under acidic condition representing inflammation and in two elapsed times (1 h and 1-day) using polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. For comparison, the experiments were also conducted in normal physiological solution after 1 h, and pure Ti (100vol%Ti) was fabricated by the same process and analyzed, similarly. Furthermore, behavior of the samples was studied after 48 days of immersion in the acidic and normal solutions using SEM, ATR-FTIR, AFM, and ICP-OES. The results of corrosion tests showed very good passivation behavior of 100vol%Ti and the composite containing 75vol.%Ti. The superiority of the 75vol.%Ti composite in corrosion characteristics in both solutions was also found. Its corrosion resistance was 20.3 MΩcm² under the inflammatory condition after 1-day, which was 39% higher than that of 100vol.%Ti under the same condition. The results of SEM indicated both corroded and mineral deposition zones on all materials' surfaces and the ATR-FTIR results revealed additional adsorbed bands related to water adsorption, OH and carbonate groups after immersion. The AFM analysis showed rougher morphology, particularly for 75 vol% Ti where the Rq was increased about 50 nm, and the ICP-OES results indicated 65.87% and 61.94% deposition of solution calcium on 75vol.%Ti and 50vol.%Ti, respectively. The acidic/inflammatory condition influenced the corrosion processes of all materials. Lower pH caused the passivation to occur sooner and the corrosion resistance to be higher.