Surface chemical treatment of ultrafine-grained Ti–6Al–7Nb alloy processed by severe plastic deformation

•Ultrafine-grained titanium alloys is a good choice for biomedical applications.•Acid phosphoric treatment enhances bioactivity of Ti–6Al–7Nb alloy.•Apatite precipitation was increased in ultrafine-grained after surface modification.

Ti–6Al–7Nb containing harmless for tissues niobium can be a good choice replacing Ti–6Al–4V for orthopedic implants application. Formation of ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure in metals and alloys by severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques allows for achieving unique mechanical properties. Using equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) UFG structure in Ti–6Al–7Nb alloy with an average size of grains/subgrains of 200 nm was obtained. This UFG Ti–6Al–7Nb alloy has high mechanical (ultimate tensile strength 1470 MPa) and fatigue properties, suitable for practical application.Additionally, surface modifications of titanium alloys aim induce specific responses on osteoblastic cells after implantation. Chemical surface treatments are simple methods to obtain a bioactive for apatite precipitation surface. Phosphoric acid etching combined or not with alkaline treatment presented bioactivity after seven days soaked in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution.