Yongfan Fu , Shiwen Hu , Dandan Zhu , Zefeng Chen , Dexue Liu
{"title":"Effect of thermal oxidation on microstructure and wear resistance of TiZrNb medium-entropy alloy","authors":"Yongfan Fu , Shiwen Hu , Dandan Zhu , Zefeng Chen , Dexue Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.surfcoat.2024.131724","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ti45Zr45Nb10 medium-entropy alloy (TZN MEA) possess superior biomechanical characteristics, characterized by a low modulus of elasticity (55 ± 2 GPa) and high yield strength (678 ± 17 MPa); however, its inferior wear resistance restricts its application in the biomedical field. Surface modification techniques can address this deficiency. Among these techniques, thermal oxidation stands out as a straightforward and environmentally benign technique capable of significantly enhancing the surface attributes of alloys. In the present investigation, TZN MEA was subjected to thermal oxidation treatment across a temperature range of 400 to 500 °C for 2 to 6 h. The impact of oxidation time and temperature on the alloys' morphological, weight, oxide layer thickness, phase composition, hardness, and frictional properties have been examined. With increasing oxidation time and temperature, the oxidation kinetics of the alloys followed a parabolic trend, with the oxide layer thickness on the surface increasing from 0.9 to 13.3 μm and the density rising from 0.647 to 1.097 g·cm<sup>‐3</sup>. The oxide layer primarily consisted of TiO<sub>2</sub> and ZrO<sub>2</sub>, with a minor contribution from Nb<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>. The development of a high-hardness oxide layer and the concurrent increase in density led to a pronounced enhancement in the hardness of the oxidized specimens, which increased by a factor of 1.5 to 4 (377 to 1133 <span><math><msub><mi>HV</mi><mn>0.05</mn></msub></math></span>). Furthermore, their wear resistance was significantly improved, with the wear volume being reduced from 0.0627 mm<sup>3</sup> to the range of 0.00023 mm<sup>3</sup> to 0.00037 mm<sup>3</sup>. Comparative analysis with Ti6Al4V alloy revealed that the TZN MEA exhibited superior wear resistance after thermal oxidation. The wear mechanism of the oxidized samples is dominated by abrasive wear. Moreover, the corrosion resistance and wettability after thermal oxidation are improved to a certain extent. These results indicate that the TZN MEA has excellent wear resistance after thermal oxidation, which broadens their application prospects as a human implant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22009,"journal":{"name":"Surface & Coatings Technology","volume":"497 ","pages":"Article 131724"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Surface & Coatings Technology","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0257897224013562","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, COATINGS & FILMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Ti45Zr45Nb10 medium-entropy alloy (TZN MEA) possess superior biomechanical characteristics, characterized by a low modulus of elasticity (55 ± 2 GPa) and high yield strength (678 ± 17 MPa); however, its inferior wear resistance restricts its application in the biomedical field. Surface modification techniques can address this deficiency. Among these techniques, thermal oxidation stands out as a straightforward and environmentally benign technique capable of significantly enhancing the surface attributes of alloys. In the present investigation, TZN MEA was subjected to thermal oxidation treatment across a temperature range of 400 to 500 °C for 2 to 6 h. The impact of oxidation time and temperature on the alloys' morphological, weight, oxide layer thickness, phase composition, hardness, and frictional properties have been examined. With increasing oxidation time and temperature, the oxidation kinetics of the alloys followed a parabolic trend, with the oxide layer thickness on the surface increasing from 0.9 to 13.3 μm and the density rising from 0.647 to 1.097 g·cm‐3. The oxide layer primarily consisted of TiO2 and ZrO2, with a minor contribution from Nb2O5. The development of a high-hardness oxide layer and the concurrent increase in density led to a pronounced enhancement in the hardness of the oxidized specimens, which increased by a factor of 1.5 to 4 (377 to 1133 ). Furthermore, their wear resistance was significantly improved, with the wear volume being reduced from 0.0627 mm3 to the range of 0.00023 mm3 to 0.00037 mm3. Comparative analysis with Ti6Al4V alloy revealed that the TZN MEA exhibited superior wear resistance after thermal oxidation. The wear mechanism of the oxidized samples is dominated by abrasive wear. Moreover, the corrosion resistance and wettability after thermal oxidation are improved to a certain extent. These results indicate that the TZN MEA has excellent wear resistance after thermal oxidation, which broadens their application prospects as a human implant.
期刊介绍:
Surface and Coatings Technology is an international archival journal publishing scientific papers on significant developments in surface and interface engineering to modify and improve the surface properties of materials for protection in demanding contact conditions or aggressive environments, or for enhanced functional performance. Contributions range from original scientific articles concerned with fundamental and applied aspects of research or direct applications of metallic, inorganic, organic and composite coatings, to invited reviews of current technology in specific areas. Papers submitted to this journal are expected to be in line with the following aspects in processes, and properties/performance:
A. Processes: Physical and chemical vapour deposition techniques, thermal and plasma spraying, surface modification by directed energy techniques such as ion, electron and laser beams, thermo-chemical treatment, wet chemical and electrochemical processes such as plating, sol-gel coating, anodization, plasma electrolytic oxidation, etc., but excluding painting.
B. Properties/performance: friction performance, wear resistance (e.g., abrasion, erosion, fretting, etc), corrosion and oxidation resistance, thermal protection, diffusion resistance, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, and properties relevant to smart materials behaviour and enhanced multifunctional performance for environmental, energy and medical applications, but excluding device aspects.