Mechanical and electrochemical response in Surface treated low modulus biomedical alloy Ti-Nb-Ta-O

Surface modification of metallic biomedical implants are often performed using chemical or mechanical methods in order to make them more bio-active or resistant against surface-induced phenomena such as wear, corrosion or corrosion fatigue. In the present study, one such method, known as Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (SMAT), has been studied in terms of its effects on the mechanical and functional response of a newly developed low modulus metastable β Ti-Nb-Ta-O alloy. The hardness of the surface was found to increase up to a certain duration of SMAT, due to increased degree of deformation on the surface. This was also supported by an increase in the peak broadening with respect to SMAT duration. Apart from surface hardening, SMAT also resulted in improvement of corrosion resistance of the Ti-Nb-Ta-O alloy due to formation of a more stable passive film