Tribocorrosion behavior of Nb coating deposited by double-glow plasma alloying

Abstract

Titanium and titanium alloys are considered as good implant materials, but their poor tribocorrosion resistance limits further development. In this study, niobium coating (DG-Nb) was deposited on TA3 pure titanium (Pure Ti) by double-glow plasma alloying aiming to improve the tribocorrosion resistance of Pure Ti. The properties of the samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Open circuit potential (OCP) and coefficient of friction (COF) tests were used to examine the tribocorrosion performance. The results showed that DG-Nb can largely enhance the tribocorrosion resistance of Pure Ti in Ringer's physiological solution.