Biomedical Mo particles reinforced titanium alloy fabricated by laser additive manufacturing

Modulus is an important factor in developing biomedical Ti-implants, and the high modulus of commercial TC4 alloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion technology (LPBF) limits its applications in biomedical sector. This work proposed a low-cost and low-modulus 5 vol% Mo particles reinforced TC4 composites by LPBF with powder mixture. The results showed a phase transformation, which is the <<' phase to beta phase via X-ray phase analysis due to the addition of Mo particles in the TC4 matrix, obtaining decreased modulus from 100 +/- 14 GPa to 64 +/- 3 GPa and a significantly increased elongation from 14 +/- 2% to 29 +/- 1%. The fracture surface shows that the Mo particles' plastic deformation can effectively improve the plasticity of Mo(p)/TC4 composites. This work may pave the way for developing low-modulus Ti-based composites for biomedical implants.(c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.