Abstract
Austenitic stainless steel is one of the materials commonly used for manufacturing of orthodontic appliances and brackets. In this study, samples of AISI 321 (EN X6CrNiTi 18-10) steel in initial condition and after laser surface melting were investigated in artificial saliva with pH 5.6. Two tests were conducted: measurement of open circuit potentials (free potentials) Ef until reaching steady state potentials Ess and potentiodynamic anodic polarisation. The samples’ surface was characterised by SEM, and EDX analysis was also done. Small amount of pits were observed on the surface of all samples – untreated and laser-melted layers as well. The steady state potential of the base metal was about +238 mV, while that of the laser-melted layers was approximately 50 mV lower. The pitting potentials Epit of the laser-treated samples were lower than those of the untreated stainless steel (+802 mV). It was established that the laser-melted surface layers of stainless steel are more susceptible to pitting corrosion in artificial saliva with higher acidity than those of the base metal.
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