Ultra-high strength TiZrNbTa high entropy alloy substrate coated by coral-like metal oxide nanotubes to enhance biocompatibility

Abstract

Metal implants usually are regarded as the best choice to replace hard tissue, such as hip and knee joints, which is due to their excellent mechanical properties. However, osseointegration should be improved between the implant materials and the surrounding bone tissue. Surface modification is a solution to addressing this issue, in which electrochemical anodization is an easy and cost-effective method to fabricate the nanotubes on the implant surface. In this work, coral-like multi-component metal oxide nanotubes with micro/nano-textured on ultra-high strength TiZrNbTa highentropy alloy substrates that possess 2033 ± 81 MPa for yield strength and 6.9 % ± 1.3 % for plasticity have been successfully fabricated by anodization. Surface morphology, surface chemistry analyses, hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility were studied in detail. In comparison, the addition of coral-like multi-component metal oxide nanotubes with micro/nano-topography on the TiZrNbTa surface reveals better biocompatibility than smooth TiZrNbTa, which provides a possibility as implant materials to apply.