Chapters authored
Advanced Surface Treatments on Titanium and Titanium Alloys Focused on Electrochemical and Physical Technologies for Biomedical Applications
Titanium and its alloys are becoming very promising materials in biomedicine due to their excellent properties. However, their poor tribological behavior characterized by high friction coefficient and severe adhesive wear is their main limitation. Surface modification technologies based on electrochemical and physical techniques have been successfully employed to improve the tribological performance and osseointegration of Titanium materials, ensuring an effective protection against both wear and corrosion. For instance, anodizing and plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) are two electrochemical techniques that allow the growth of an oxide film of high hardness and good adhesion. The formation of these oxide films in electrolytes with bioactive elements has been reported to enhance cell functionalities and improve the tribocorrosion performance of Titanium surfaces considerably. Similarly, physical vapor deposition (PVD) technologies such as cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) and magnetron sputtering (MS) are commonly used today for the growth of protective hard coatings on different Titanium components in the biomedical field. Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) and transition metal nitride (MeNx) and carbide (MeCx) protective films grown by PVD have proven to be excellent candidates to enhance Titanium and Titanium alloys performance and durability, owing to their excellent adhesion, high hardness, low friction coefficient and enhanced wear and corrosion resistance.
Part of the book: Biomaterial-supported Tissue Reconstruction or Regeneration