A new ternary alloy Ti26Zr24Nb for biomedical application : behavior in corrosion, wear, and tribocorrosion

Abstract

Titanium (Ti)-based alloys with only β-phase have arisen the interest of academics and industrials for bone implants due to their mechanical properties close to those of hard tissues, and for the capability of allowing with β-stabilizers, totally biocompatible elements like Nb, Ta, and Zr. However, there is no consensus about the most adequate composition and, in many cases, tribocorrosion behavior is not considered during their development. New ternary alloy Ti26Zr24Nb as biomaterial is the matter of study of this work regarding wear and corrosion resistances, and the tribocorrosion behavior of this alloy in contact with pH 7, deaerated Hanks solution at 37 °C to simulate a body fuid. All samples have had surface prepared according to the same protocol and a subtract characterization previously and after the electrochemical, dry wear, and tribocorrosion experiments. Results showed high corrosion resistance, with constant open circuit potential (~− 200 mV) and low corrosion current density (~0.9×10−8 A/cm2 ) and important pitting resistance, as well as higher coefcient of friction (COF) for both wear (0.69) and tribocorrosion (0.65) tests than those reported in the literature and, additionally, less wear under tribocorrosion condition compared to dry wear test