Microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion behavior of novel antibacterial Ti-25Nb-xCu for dental implant

The growing demand for innovative metallic biomaterials for replacing and repairing dental tissue has increased due to the increasing number of people in the aging population and the expectation for an improved quality of life. In this study, a series of novel Ti-25Nb-xCu (25 and x = 3, 6, and 9, are in wt%) alloys were fabricated by powder metallurgy processing in an argon atmosphere. The Nb content was fixed at 25 wt%, while the Cu content was varied. The sintering temperature was 1300 degrees C, and the holding time was 4 h. Physical characterization, microstructure, mechanical (hardness) properties, and corrosion behavior were observed. The microstructure of the Ti-25Nb-xCu alloys consists of alpha-Ti, beta-Ti phases, and the precipitation of Ti2Cu. The lower content of Cu (Ti-25Nb-3Cu) would have a lamellar structure, while the higher content of Cu (Ti-25Nb-6Cu and Ti-25Nb-9Cu) would have a more equiaxed structure. The increasing percentage of Cu would increase the mechanical properties. As for the corrosion behavior, adding Cu did not significantly affect the corrosion resistance, but Ti-25Nb-6Cu was shown to have the highest corrosion resistance. Furthermore, Ti-25Nb-6Cu exhibited higher antibacterial performance. Therefore, Ti-25Nb-6Cu was shown to be a promising material for dental implants.