Microstructure, mechanical properties and antibacterial properties of the microwave sintered porous Ti–3Cu alloys

Abstract

The porous Ti–3Cu alloys were fabricated by microwave sintering using Mg space holder for biomedical application, and the effects of sintering temperatures on the pore structure, phase composition, compressive strength, elastic modulus, corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of the porous Ti–3Cu alloys were investigated. The results show that the porous Ti–3Cu alloys are composed of α-Ti phase and Ti2Cu phase, and the intensity of Ti2Cu diffraction peaks increases with increasing the sintering temperatures. The sintering temperatures have significant effect on the pore structure of the porous Ti–3Cu alloys, and the porosities decrease with increasing the sintering temperatures. Correspondingly, both of the compressive strength and elastic modulus of the porous Ti–3Cu alloys gradually increase with increasing the sintering temperatures. The elastic modulus of the porous Ti–3Cu alloys is very close to the human cortical bone, while the compressive strength is much higher than that of the human cortical bone. The corrosion resistance of the porous Ti–3Cu alloys in the SBF solution slightly increases with increasing the sintering temperatures. The porous Ti–3Cu alloys exhibit strong antibacterial ability, and the antibacterial rates greatly increase with prolonging the incubation times. After incubation for 12 h, the antibacterial rates of porous Ti–3Cu alloys against both E. coli and S. aureus are up to 100%.