Tribo-electrochemical technique for studying tribocorrosion behavior of biomaterials

Tribocorrosion is the term which describes the synergy between tribological and electrochemical processes. An apparatus was designed and built to study the tribocorrosion behavior of biomaterials. Electrochemical set-up with three electrodes is used for controlling the potential of the surface of a conducting material subjected to classical wear testing. Using this equipment, it is possible to carry out friction and wear tests in electrolytic solution under well-defined electrochemical conditions determined by the applied electrode potential. In this paper, this apparatus was described and the tests of deposited TiN on pure Ti for corrosion and tribocorrosion behavior under simulated body fluid were conducted. The presence of TiN layer on the surface of Ti has increased the open circuit potential. The charge transfer resistance (R-ct) determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was higher for the nitrided surfaces than for the Ti substrates. However after wear test, R-ct was significantly reduced because the protective layer was damaged. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.