Effect of the Sintering Atmosphere on the Corrosion Resistance of Titanium for Application as Biomaterial

In this work, the effect of sintering atmosphere on the corrosion resistance of sintered titanium has been evaluated in 0.9 % aqueous NaCl solution to simulate physiological environment. Corrosion tests were performed on titanium porous sintered under vacuum and vacuum plus dynamic argon. The results showed better passive properties associated to the titanium sintered under argon plus vacuum atmosphere than to the vacuum sintered titanium. The better corrosion resistance of the argon plus vacuum sintered titanium was attributed to the formation of a thin passive film on the titanium surface during sintering due the low oxygen content present in this atmosphere.