Effects of Ti/TiN multilayer on corrosion resistance of nickel–titanium orthodontic brackets in artificial saliva

The effects of multilayered Ti/TiN or single-layered TiN films deposited by pulse-biased arc ion plating (PBAIP) on the corrosion behavior of NiTi orthodontic brackets in artificial saliva are investigated. The multilayered Ti/TiN coating is found to exhibit a greater free corrosion potential, much lower passive current density, and no breakdown up to 1.5 V. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results indicate that the multilayered Ti/TiN coating has a larger impedance and lower porosity which is believed to be responsible for the exceedingly low metal ion release rate during 720 h exposure in the test solution. Visual inspection of the surfaces reveals different corrosion processes for the TiN and multilayered Ti/TiN coatings.