Optimization of mechanical property, antibacterial property and corrosion resistance of Ti-Cu alloy for dental implant

Ti-Cu alloys with different Cu contents (3, 5 and 7 wt%) were fabricated and studied as novel antibacterial biomaterials for dental application. The Ti-Cu alloys were annealing treated at different temperatures (740 degrees C, 830 degrees C and 910 degrees C) in order to obtain three typical microstructures, alpha-Ti + Ti2Cu, alpha-Ti + transformed beta-Ti, and transformed beta-Ti. Mechanical, antibacterial and biocorrosion properties of Ti-Cu alloys with different microstructures were well analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), tensile test, electrochemical test and antibacterial test. The results indicated that the Ti-Cu alloys with microstructure of alpha-Ti +Ti2Cu showed the best ductility compared with other Ti-Cu alloys with microstructures of alpha-Ti + transformed beta-Ti and complete transformed beta-Ti, and meanwhile, increase of the Cu content significantly contributed to the decreased ductility due to the increasing amount of Ti2Cu, which brought both solid solution strengthening and precipitation strengthening. Finally, the Ti-5Cu alloy with microstructure of alpha-Ti + Ti2Cu exhibited excellent ductility, antibacterial property and corrosion resistance, providing a great potential in clinical application for dental implants. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.