Corrosion behaviour of Ti–6Al–7Nb and Ti–6Al–4V ELI alloys in the simulated body fluid solution by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

The corrosion behaviour of Ti–6Al–7Nb and Ti–6Al–4V ELI (extra low interstitial) was investigated as a function of immersion hours in simulated body fluid (SBF) condition, utilizing potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Polarisation experiments were conducted after 0, 120, 240 and 360 h of immersion in SBF solution. From the polarisation curves, very low current densities were obtained for Ti–6Al–7Nb alloy compared to Ti–6Al–4V ELI, indicating a formation of stable passive layer. Impedance spectra were represented in the form of Bode plots and it was fitted using a non-linear least square (NLLS) fitting procedure, in which it exhibited a two time constant system suggesting the formation of two layers. The surface morphology of the titanium alloys have been characterized by SEM and EDAX measurements.