Corrosion Assessment of Zr2.5Nb Alloy in Ringer’s Solution by Electrochemical Methods

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the anticorrosive properties of Zr2.5Nb alloy intended for possible applications in the human body; it was tested for 2 days in Ringer solution (an artificial analogue for human blood, considered the most corrosive body fluid). For Zr2.5Nb samples, in situ electrochemical measurements to assess the anticorrosive properties were applied, such as open circuit potential (OCP), polarization resistance (Rp), potentiodynamic polarization (PD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical results show that the Zr2.5Nb alloy shows a positive and stable trend according to the open circuit potential, but with a modest corrosion rate in the form of pitting, deduced from the analysis of the polarization resistance and cyclic voltammetry data.

Keywords

• corrosion
• Zr2.5Nb alloy
• medical prosthesis
• Ringer’s solution
• electrochemical methods