Surface characterization

The biocompatibility of commercially pure titanium and its alloys is closely related to their surface properties, with both the composition of the protecting oxide film and the surface topography playing an important role. Surfaces of commercially pure titanium and of the two alloys Ti-6Al-7Nb and Ti-6Al-4V (wt %) have been investigated following three different pretreatments: polishing, nitric acid passivation and pickling in nitric acid-hydrogen fluoride. Nitric acid treatment is found to substantially reduce the concentration of surface contaminants present after polishing. The natural 4-6 nm thick oxide layer on commercially pure titanium is composed of titanium oxide in different oxidation states (TiO2, Ti2O3 and TiO), while for the alloys, aluminium and niobium or vanadium are additionally present in oxidized form (Al2O3, Nb2O5 or V-oxides). The concentrations of the alloying elements at the surface are shown to be strongly dependent on the pretreatment process. While pickling increases the surface roughness of both commercially pure titanium and the alloys, different mechanisms appear to be involved. In the case of commercially pure titanium, the dissolution rate depends on grain orientation, whereas in the case of the two alloys, selective α-phase dissolution and enrichment of the β-phase appears to occur. © 1999 Kluwer Academic Publisher