Biocorrosion properties of Ti–3Cu alloy in F ion-containing solution and acidic solution and biocompatibility

Ti–3Cu alloy has shown low melting point and strong antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli and thus has potential application as dental materials and orthopedic application. In this paper, the corrosion properties of Ti–3Cu alloy in five kinds of simulated solutions were investigated in comparison with cp-Ti (commercially pure titanium) by electrochemical technology and immersion experiment. Electrochemical results have demonstrated that Ti–3Cu alloy exhibited much nobler corrosion potential, lower corrosion current density and high corrosion resistance than cp-Ti in all solutions, especially in saliva-pH6.8 + 0.2F and saliva-pH3.5, indicating that Ti–3Cu alloy has much better anticorrosion properties than cp-Ti. Immersion results have shown that Ti ion and Cu ion were released from Ti–3Cu, especially in saliva-pH6.8 + 0.2F and saliva-pH3.5 solutions. Both electrochemical data and immersion results have indicated that high corrosion rate and high metal ion release rate were detected in F ion-containing solution and low-pH solution, displaying that F⁻ and low pH had much strong aggressive attack to cp-Ti and Ti–3Cu alloy. The corroded surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the roughness was tested in the end. The good corrosion resistance of antibacterial Ti–3Cu alloy suggests its great potential as a long-term biomedical application.