Tribocorrosion behavior of Ti-30Zr alloy for dental implants

The tribocorrosion behavior of the Ti-30Zr alloy as dental implant in Hank's solution was evaluated. The results demonstrated that the wear volumes of the alloy increased as the applied load increase with/without electrochemical corrosion. The wear volumes acquired with corrosion exceeded the wear volumes without corrosion, whereas the difference between these two increased as the load increased. The material loss induced by the corrosion increased and the corrosion potential decreased as the loads increased, due to the interaction between wear and corrosion. The potentiodynamic polarization curves were acquired during wear. The corrosion potential (E_corr) of −0.493 V was acquired at 1.0 N, while the E_corr of −0.786 V was acquired at 5.0 N, indicating that the potential moved negatively as the applied loads increased, due to mechanical wear. Through observations of the 3-dimension surface and the SEM images of the worn surfaces, the visible scratches/grooves were observed along the sliding direction, indicating a predominant abrasive mechanism.