Effect of surface treatment on electrochemical behavior of CP Ti, Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloys in simulated human body fluid

The effect of an alkaline surface treatment on the electrochemical behavior of CP titanium, Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–13Nb–13Zr has been investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Experiments were performed in Hank’s solution as a function of immersion time. The electrochemical behavior of untreated alloys was also studied. Potentiodynamic polarization experiments conducted after 1 and 168 h of immersion in Hank’s solution indicated minimal change in passive current density for the untreated alloys. EIS data obtained after 1, 24, 72 and 168 h for untreated alloys also indicated minimal change in passive film resistance. In the case of surface-treated alloys, EIS revealed the formation of one additional layer on CP Ti and two additional layers on Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloys after surface treatment and immersion in Hank’s solution. Some ideas about the nature of these layers have been obtained by fitting the EIS data to equivalent electrical circuit models. The surfaces of the treated Ti-alloys were also characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The first additional layer has been identified as a sodium titanate hydrogel layer and the second layer, as an apatite layer. The apatite nucleation and growth on the surface occurred after immersion in Hank’s solution. Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloys exhibited higher apatite film resistance compared to CP Ti.