Corrosion Wear Performance of Pure Titanium Laser Texturing Surface by Nitrogen Ion Implantation

Abstract

The poor tribological performances of titanium have significantly limited its applications in the field of artificial joints. In order to solve problems regarding the wear and corrosion of artificial joints in the body, we fabricated the composite materials utilizing the combination of laser surface texturing and nitrogen ion implantation technology, and investigated the effect of laser surface texturing, nitrogen ion implantation, and different dimple area densities on tribological performance. The results show that the textured surface could reduce the friction coefficient and improve the wear resistance, and the optimum dimple density was found to be 25%. After N ion implantation, the wear resistance of the textured sample was further improved, due to the formation of the nitride layer. Moreover, as shown by the electrochemical test results, the corrosion resistance was enhanced significantly. The friction coefficient decreased the most, and the wear resistance increased by 405% with the lowest wear rate of 0.37 × 10−3 mm3/N·m. However, the specimen with a dimple density of 60% had the worst wear resistance. The results of the study provide a basis for the development and application of artificial joint materials.