Corrosion Behaviour of Selective Laser Melted Ti-TiB Biocomposite in Simulated Body Fluid

The corrosion behaviour of CP-Ti and Ti-TiB composite produced by selective laser melting (SLM) in the artificial simulated body fluid (Hank's solution) at body temperature was investigated systematically by using electrochemical measurements (potentiodynamic polarisation curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), together with some detailed structural characterisations. The results demonstrate that SLM-produced Ti-TiB composite samples possess better corrosion resistance than SLM-produced CP-Ti samples in Hank's solution. Due to these tiny TiB and TiB2 particles acting as the micro-cathode uniformly distributing in titanium matrix, anodic dissolution of titanium matrix in the corrosion process is prominently facilitated in early stages, followed by rapid passivation on the surface. The corrosion mechanism of Ti-TiB composite samples has also been discussed in detail in this paper.