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

Abstract

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-xCu alloys were systematically discussed. The results showed that the Ti-13Nb-13Zr-xCu alloys were mainly composed of β-Ti, α-Ti, and Cu-containing phases (Ti2Cu, Cu10Zr7 and CuZr). Compared with the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy, the compressive strength and yield strength of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr-xCu 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 (Icorr) displayed a decreasing trend. The Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy had the lowest corrosion current (1.23 μA cm−2) and passivation current density (2.47 μA cm−2), indicating excellent corrosion resistance. Antibacterial tests showed that the antibacterial rate of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr-xCu 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.