Influence of the fabrication process and fluoride content on the tribocorrosion behaviour of Ti6Al4V biomedical alloy in artificial saliva

Titanium and its alloys are widely used as dental implants due to their low density, excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, during their lifetime Ti6Al4V biomedical alloys are subjected to different mechanical actions (i.e., sliding or fretting), thus resulting in a tribocorrosion system, which is an irreversible material degradation process due to the combined effect of corrosion and wear. In this study, the tribo-electrochemical behavior of cast and sintered (by powder metallurgy) Ti6Al4V alloy in artificial human saliva solution without and with fluoride additions of 100ppm and 1000ppm and in an average industrial mouth wash solution with a 112ppm fluoride content have been investigated by different electrochemical techniques. The same tribocorrosion mechanisms were found in the cast and sintered titanium alloys, although slightly different wear debris behavior was observed. At low applied passive potentials, wear rates are similar to those obtained under equilibrium conditions (Open Circuit Potential). There exists a critical fluoride concentration above which corrosion and tribocorrosion rates increase.