Microstructure and mechanical behavior of metal injection molded Ti–Nb binary alloys as biomedical material

The application of titanium (Ti) based biomedical materials which are widely used at present, such as commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) and Ti-6Al-4V, are limited by the mismatch of Young's modulus between the implant and the bones, the high costs of products, and the difficulty of producing complex shapes of materials by conventional methods. Niobium (Nb) is a non-toxic element with strong β stabilizing effect in Ti alloys, which makes Ti-Nb based alloys attractive for implant application. Metal injection molding (MIM) is a cost-efficient near-net shape process. Thus, it attracts growing interest for the processing of Ti and Ti alloys as biomaterial. In this investigation, metal injection molding was applied to the fabrication of a series of Ti-Nb binary alloys with niobium content ranging from 10wt% to 22wt%, and CP-Ti for comparison. Specimens were characterized by melt extraction, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Titanium carbide formation was observed in all the as-sintered Ti-Nb binary alloys but not in the as-sintered CP-Ti. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns revealed that the carbides are Ti2C. It was found that with increasing niobium content from 0% to 22%, the porosity increased from about 1.6% to 5.8%, and the carbide area fraction increased from 0% to about 1.8% in the as-sintered samples. The effects of niobium content, porosity and titanium carbides on mechanical properties have been discussed. The as-sintered Ti-Nb specimens exhibited an excellent combination of high tensile strength and low Young's modulus, but relatively low ductility.