Investigation of the electrochemical behavior of titanium dioxide coating on magnesium alloy

Abstract

Biocompatibility and electrochemical corrosion resistance are one of the most important issues in bone implants. In the last decades, metal implants have received much attention because of their properties. Magnesium and its alloys have been widely used in orthopedics because of their biocompatibility and bone growth proprieties. Magnesium has low corrosion resistance; especially in biological environments of the body, or when exposed to blood plasma, this makes magnesium useful as an absorbable implant. To increase the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys, and adjust the corrosion rate of the implant to the rate of bone growth, it is necessary to coat these implants. Ceramic coatings are one of the possibilities, because of their biocompatibility and high corrosion resistance. TiO2 possesses desirable properties, such as an excellent mechanical features, high corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility, which make it widely used as implant coatings material. Sol-gel is one of the effective methods for making various ceramic materials. In this study, the electrochemical properties of magnesium alloy Mg-5Gd-2.5Nd-0.5Zn-0.5Zr with and without coating with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) are investigated through Tafel extrapolation and impedance test Titanium dioxide coating was applied to the alloys by the sol-gel method. The effect of four variables of fluoride ion content, etching time, immersion time, and the number of immersions were studied. The results of SEM images showed the optimal sample surface of a uniform coating with a thickness of 6 μm. The optimal sample corrosion current density reported 2.58 × 10−5 A/m2, which is the lowest current density in samples. The results of the impedance test also confirmed these data and the optimal sample indicated the highest value of Rp = 5003 Ω.cm2.