Titanium-zirconium coatings formed on the titanium implant surface by the electroexplosive method

•Bioinert Ti-Zr coatings are obtained by the electroexplosive method.•Coatings present a solid solution based on Ti-Zr, carbide and oxide phases.•Ti-Zr coatings have an increased hardness, wear resistance.•Ti-Zr coatings have a nano- and submicrocrystalline structure. The electroexplosive method is used to obtain Ti-Zr coatings on the titanium dental implant surface (alloy VT6). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy as well as X-ray diffraction analysis are used to determine the elemental and phase composition; the morphology and defect substructure of the coating is studied. Hardness and Young’s modulus, friction coefficient and wear resistance of the formed coating are determined. The coating formed by electric explosion is found to be multielement and multiphase and to have a submicro-nanocrystalline structure.