Impact of Engineering Surface Treatment on Surface Properties of Biomedical TC4 Alloys under a Simulated Human Environment

Abstract

The impact of sandblasting, anodic oxidation, and anodic oxidation after sandblasting on the surface structure and properties of titanium alloys was investigated. It was found that the surface treatments had a significant influence on the surface roughness values, contact angle values, Vickers hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of titanium alloys. The surface roughness of titanium alloys with sandblasting treatment was increased by 67% compared to untreated specimen. The Vickers hardness of titanium alloys treated with anodic oxidation after sandblasting was found to increase from 380.8 HV to 408.5 HV, which was increased by 7.3%. The surface treatments in this work improved the wear resistance of the titanium alloys to some extent, and it can be found that the wear scar width is reduced by up to 18.6%. The corrosion resistance of the titanium alloys was found to improve on anodic oxidation. Sandblasting was found to increase surface roughness and promote the formation of a porous layer during the anodization process, resulting in a slight decrease in corrosion resistance. The corrosion current density was increased by 21% compared to the untreated specimen. The corrosion current density of the titanium alloy treated with anodic oxidation decreased to 7.01 × 10−8 A/cm2. The corrosion current density was decreased by 24% compared to the untreated specimen. The corrosion current density of the titanium alloys treated with anodic oxidation after sandblasting decreased to 7.63 × 10−8 A/cm2. The corrosion current density was decreased by 8.8% compared to the specimen with anodic oxidation. The anodic oxidation provided a hydrophilic property for the surface of Ti alloys, which could show a better osseointegration characteristic than that of sandblasting. The impact of the surface treatments on surface structure and properties of titanium alloys was studied.