Analysis of tribocorrosion behavior of biomedical powder metallurgy titanium alloys

Resumen

Titanium and its alloys have been widely used in oral implantology due to their mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. However, under in vivo conditions the implants are subjected to the tribocorrosion phenomenon, which consists in the degradation mechanisms due to the combined effect of wear and corrosion. This process contributes to limiting the life span of the implant and may generate clinical problems in patients as metallic ions are released. Another cause of dental implant failure may be the loosening of the implant as metal does not promote osseointegration. The powder-metallurgy process is a promising alternative to the traditional casting fabrication process of titanium alloys for bone implants design, as the porous structure would allow the bone to grow into the pores. This would result in a better fixation of the metal implant without the need of sandblasting /acid etching the surface. The present Doctoral thesis aims at describing the corrosion and tribocorrosion behavior of titanium alloys and their degradation mechanisms when processed by powder metallurgy, as a possible alternative to standard casting for dental implant application. For this, model Ti6Al4V titanium alloy and possible substitute Ti6Al7Nb alloy, where Vanadium has been replaced by Niobium in order to avoid cytotoxicity of the resulting biomaterial, have been studied. Electrochemical and tribo-electrochemical characterization of the biomaterials have been carried out under different physico-chemical conditions with biological relevance (in artificial saliva (AS) with different fluoride content, pH and oxidising conditions) which noticeably influences the degradation mechanisms of the studied materials. A new tribocorrosion technique that allows measuring the galvanic potential and current between the wear track (anode) and the passive material (cathode) through Zero-Resistance Ammetry (ZRA) has been also used to elucidate tribocorrosion mechanisms of the model Ti6Al4V cast alloy in AS. The ZRA technique for tribocorrosion allowed predicting the real depassivated area and therefore, the deviation of the wear mechanisms from Archard wear law at Open Circuit Potential (OCP). All alloys show passivity in artificial saliva although active dissolution occurs in presence of high fluoride concentration (1000 ppm) and acidic conditions, pH 3. The degradation mechanism of sintered alloys is mainly governed by the mechanical wear in AS and only determined by the active dissolution when fluorides are added to acidified artificial saliva (pH 3). Wear was found to be governed by the prevailing oxidizing condition (simulated by changes in the electrode potential). Ti6Al4V alloy processed by powder metallurgy showed a similar tribocorrosion resistance when compared to commercially available cast alloy suggesting that powder metallurgy is a promising fabrication process for implant applications. The influence of the alloying elements, Al and Nb, on the corrosion and tribocorrosion behavior of different titanium alloys, Ti6Al7Nb, Ti7Nb and Ti6Al has been studied and in all cases, the corrosion resistance is improved when compared to pure titanium. Wear damage was found to be critically affected by the ductility of the material, thus by the alloying element. Ti6Al7Nb showed a better corrosion resistance and similar tribocorrosion behaviour when compared to Ti6Al4V. The results of this thesis have shown that Ti6Al7Nb obtained by Powder metallurgy is a promising biomedical alloy for oral implants. Wear damage of sintered Ti alloys depends on the electrochemical potential and their tribocorrosion behaviour is critically affected by a high content of fluoride found in common daily dental health care products.