Corrosion behavior of Ti-5Ag alloy with and without thermal oxidation in artificial saliva solution.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of thermal oxidation on the corrosion behavior of Ti-5Ag alloy. METHODS The microstructure of Ti-5Ag alloy without and with thermal oxidization treatment were characterized, with commercial pure (CP) Ti as control, by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical behavior in artificial saliva solution was compared for CP Ti, Ti-5Ag alloy with and without thermal oxidation. RESULTS Compared to CP Ti, Ti-5Ag alloy without thermal oxidization treatment possessed much lower current density, higher open circuit potential, larger impedance value, and its corrosion resistance could be further improved with thermal oxidation. SIGNIFICANCE The corrosion resistance was enhanced by Ag addition for titanium and could be further improved by thermal oxidation.