Mechanical, corrosion and antibacterial properties of Ti-13Nb-13Zr-based alloys with various Cu contents

Abstract

The development of Ti-based alloys with antibacterial properties and a low elastic modulus has become a major focus in recent years in metallic biomaterials. In this paper, the influences of Cu content on the microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of Ti-13Nb-13Zr- x Cu alloys were systematically discussed. The results showed that the Ti-13Nb-13Zr- x Cu alloys were mainly composed of β -Ti, α -Ti, and Cu-containing phases (Ti _2 Cu, Cu _10 Zr _7 and CuZr). Compared with the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy, the compressive strength and yield strength of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr- x Cu alloys increased with increasing Cu content, but the elastic modulus decreased. The Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy exhibited high strength and low elastic modulus. The electrochemical experiments showed that the corrosion current density (I corr ) displayed a decreasing trend. The Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy had the lowest corrosion current (1.23 μ A cm ^−2 ) and passivation current density (2.47 μ A cm ^−2 ), indicating excellent corrosion resistance. Antibacterial tests showed that the antibacterial rate of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr- x Cu alloy with 10 and 13% Cu content against S. aureus and E. coli were over 99.0%. Therefore, it could be deduced that the Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy with excellent mechnical and antibacterial properties had the potential for biomedical applications.

Keywords

• titanium alloy
• microstructure
• mechanical properties
• corrosion properties
• antibacterial properties