Biological corrosion behaviour and antibacterial properties of Ti-Cu alloy with different Ti2Cu morphologies for dental applications

[Display omitted] •The Ti2Cu of corrosion activity is composed of a “micro-galvanic cell” with α-Ti.•The lamellar Ti2Cu increased the Cu ion release caused by more galvanic interface.•The antibacterial rate of L-Ti2Cu is 99.5 %, due to the rapid release of Cu ions. The influence of morphology of the Ti2Cu phase on biological corrosion and antibacterial properties of Ti-Cu alloy was investigated by micro-galvanic corrosion. Elongated “micro-galvanic cells” were formed between lamellar Ti2Cu phase (L-Ti2Cu) and α-Ti matrix due to the different Volta potentials. The corrosion rate (Vcorr) of L-Ti2Cu was twice that of granular Ti2Cu phase (G-Ti2Cu) because lamellar Ti2Cu phase had more galvanic interface. The release of Cu2+ ions in L-Ti2Cu was 55 % higher than G-Ti2Cu, reaching 99.5 % of the antibacterial rate in L-Ti2Cu and providing a great potential in clinical application for dental implants.