Serum effect on the electrochemical behaviour of titanium, Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb alloys in sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide

The corrosion behaviour of cp titanium Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb alloys is investigated in 2 M sulphuric acid and 2 M sodium hydroxide with and without additions of bovine serum in order to get an insight into the effect of a biological electrolyte on the active corrosion of widely used metallic implants. Ti6Al7Nb alloy shows the highest corrosion resistance in 2 M sulphuric acid, whereas it is the least corrosion-resistant in 2 M sodium hydroxide. Bovine serum inhibits the hydrogen evolution as well as the anodic dissolution reactions in both sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide. However, the cathodic efficiency of serum in sodium hydroxide is significantly higher than in sulphuric acid. Besides, the results suggest that serum forms a 2-D adsorption layer on the implant materials. Additionally, the surface coverage in sodium hydroxide is ca. 90%, while in acidic solutions only ca. 40%.