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The effect of annealing on the tribological and corrosion properties of Al-12Si samples produced by selective laser melting (SLM) is evaluated via sliding and fretting wear tests and weight loss experiments and compared to the corresponding material processed by conventional casting. Sliding wear shows that the as-prepared SLM material has the least wear rate compared to the cast and heat-treated SLM samples with abrasive wear as the major wear mechanism along with oxidation. Similar trend has also been observed for the fretting wear experiments, where the as-prepared SLM sample displays the minimum wear loss. On the other hand, the acidic corrosion behavior of the as-prepared SLM material as well as of the cast samples is similar and the corrosion rate is accelerated by increasing the heat treatment temperature. This behavior is due to the microstructural changes induced by the heat treatment, where the continuous network of Si characterizing the as-prepared SLM sample transforms to isolated Si particles in the heat-treated SLM specimens. This shows that both the wear and corrosion behaviors are strongly associated with the change in microstructure of the SLM samples due to the heat-treatment process, where the size of the hard Si particles increases, and their density decreases with increasing annealing temperature.

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Samples of low modulus beta-type Ti40Nb and cp2-Ti were chemically treated with 98% H2 SO4 + 30% H2 O2 (vol. ratio 1:1) solution. Surface analytical studies conducted with HR-SEM, AFM, and XPS identified a characteristic nanoroughness of the alloy surface related with a network of nanopits of ∼25 nm diameter. This is very similar to that obtained for cp2-Ti. The treatment enhances the oxide layer growth compared to mechanically ground states and causes a strong enrichment of Nb2 O5 relative to TiO2 on the alloy surface. The in vitro analyses clearly indicated that the chemical treatment accelerates the adhesion and spreading of human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC), increases the metabolic activity, and the enzyme activity of tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). Surface structures which were generated mimic the cytoplasmic projections of the cells on the nanoscale. Those effects are more pronounced for the Ti40Nb alloy than for cp2-Ti. The relation between alloy surface topography and chemistry and cell functions is discussed.

The low modulus β-type Ti-45Nb alloy is a promising new implant alloy due to its excellent mechanical biocompatibility and composition of non-toxic elements. The effect of surface treatments on the evolution of controlled topography and roughness was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and optical profilometry. Severe mechanical treatments, for example sand-blasting, or etching treatments in strongly oxidizing acidic solutions, like HF:HNO(3) (4:1) or H(2)SO(4):H(2)O(2) (1:1) piranha solution were found to be very effective. In particular, the latter generates a nanopatterned surface topography which is expected to be promising for the stimulation of bone tissue growth. Compared to Ti and Ti-6Al-4V, the β-type Ti-45Nb alloy requires significantly longer etching durations due to the high chemical stability of Nb. Severe surface treatments alter the passive film properties, but do not deteriorate the outstanding corrosion resistance of the Ti-45Nb alloy in synthetic body fluid environments. The Ti-45Nb appears to have a lower apatite-formation ability compared to Ti. Etching with H(2)SO(4):H(2)O(2) (1:1) piranha solution inhibits apatite formation on Ti, but not on Ti-45Nb.