Porous single-phase NiTi processed under Ca reducing vapor for use as a bone graft substitute

Porous nickel–titanium alloys (NiTi, nitinol®) have recently attracted attention in clinical surgery because they are a very interesting alternative to the more brittle and less machinable conventional porous Ca-based ceramics. The main remaining limitations come from the chemical homogeneity of the as-processed porous nickel–titanium alloys, which always contain undesired secondary Ti- and Ni-rich phases. These are known to weaken the NiTi products, to favor their cavitation corrosion and to decrease their biocompatibility. Elemental nickel must also be avoided because it could give rise to several adverse tissue reactions. Therefore, the synthesis of porous single-phase NiTi alloys by using a basic single-step sintering procedure is an important step towards the processing of safe implant materials. The sintering process used in this work is based on a vapor phase calciothermic reduction operating during the NiTi compound formation. The as-processed porous nickel–titanium microstructure is single-phase and shows a uniformly open pore distribution with porosity of about 53% and pore diameters in the range 20–100 μm. Furthermore, due to the process, fine CaO layers grow on the NiTi outer and inner surfaces, acting as possible promoting agents for the ingrowth of bone cells at the implantation site.