Effect of surface modification on surface properties and tribological behaviours of titanium alloys

Abstract

Nitrogen ion implantation and carburization technology were chosen to modify the surface properties of titanium alloys. The surface components and element concentration distribution profile of the modified titanium alloy were characterized with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface hardness and contact angle of the modified titanium alloys were measured to analyse the improvement of the mechanical properties and wettability. Friction and wear tests were performed between the modified titanium alloy plate against a ZrO 2 ball on a universal multi-functional tester . Then the tribological behaviours of the modified titanium alloys were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and a laser granularity analyser. The XPS analysis results indicated that titanium nitride and titanium carbide were formed on the titanium alloy surface. In addition, the surface hardness of nitrogen-ion-implanted titanium increased from 335 ± 7.4 HV (n = 6) to 357 ± 9.8 HV (n = 6), whereas the surface hardness of carburized titanium increased to 750 ± 25.3 HV (n = 6). The contact angles of nitrogen-ionimplanted and carburized titanium alloys were decreased from 83 to 80 and 71.5 • , respectively, indicating an improvement of surface wettability. In addition, the wear results indicated that both nitrogen ion implantation and carburization greatly improved the wear resistance of the titanium alloys and decreased the size of the wear debris. Finally, an attempt was made to explain the wear mechanisms of the modified titanium alloys.

Ion implantation of titanium based biomaterials

“…Wear resistance of implanted titanium alloy would be weakened after the destruction of the thin layer. Nitrogen ion implantation could slightly harden the surface of titanium alloy and improve the wettability and wear resistance, but could not provide a long-term protection of titanium alloy due to the extraordinary low thickness of the TiN layer [120]. This is the disadvantage of the ion implantation process.…”

Tribological and Electrochemical Characterization of UHMWPE Hybrid Nanocomposite Coating for Biomedical Applications

“…Thus several components are manufactured from titanium alloys for biomedical application. However, poor tribological properties, lack of mechanical stability in the oxide layer and low abrasive resistance are some of the limiting factors associated with titanium alloys [2].…”

“…These drawbacks of titanium alloys may jeopardize the long-term use of the implant that could lead to medical complications, such as osteolysis and aseptic loosening, and may not satisfy clinical requirements. Thus, various surface modification techniques have been studied for titanium and its alloys [2].…”

Microstructure and corrosion resistance of TC2 Ti alloy by laser cladding with Ti/TiC/TiB 2 powders

“…However, the application of titanium alloys under severe wear condition is restricted due to their low hardness and poor tribological properties [3,4]. Considering that these properties are related to the surface states of materials, one efficient approach to enhance the industrial performances of Ti alloys is to fabricate a hard and wear resistant coating on the their surfaces [5].…”