Ceramic tantalum oxide thin film coating to enhance the corrosion and wear characteristics of Ti−6Al−4V alloy

In this research, an attempt is made to study the corrosion and wear behavior of TaO₂ thin film coating deposited onto Ti−6Al−4V alloy with the highest adhesion (was achieved in the author's previous experiments using Taguchi statistical method) which leads to increase corrosion resistance, decrease debris generation and improve durability. Accordingly, pure tantalum (Ta) was deposited onto Ti−6Al−4V substrate surface as intermetallic layer then to form a TaO₂ thin film, Ta was deposited onto the sample surface in the presence of oxygen by using physical vapor deposition magnetron sputtering (PVDMS). Corrosion testing was carried out in fetal bovine serum (FBS). The corrosion test in FBS medium confirmed that the corrosion resistance of the TaO₂ – coated Ti−6Al−4V alloys was significantly higher than the uncoated Ti−6Al−4V substrate due to the decrease in corrosion current density (I_corr) for the coated substrate with high thin-film adhesion. Wear testing was carried out on uncoated and coated Ti−6Al−4V substrates in the presence of FBS medium under 15 N load (natural walking load) at 1.09 m/s (simulated medium walking speed). The tests revealed that the specific wear ratio of TaO₂ coating was significantly lower than the uncoated substrate wear ratio. The average friction coefficients obtained were 0.183 and 0.152 for uncoated substrate and TaO₂ thin film coating, respectively. So, due to the noticeable corrosion and wear resistance characteristics of the TaO₂ coating, it is suggested for hip joint implant. - Highlights: • The TaO₂ coating has been created onto the Ti−6Al−4V surface by using PVDMS method. • The TaO₂ coating has been formed on the Ti−6Al−4V sample at the highest adhesion. • The corrosion resistance of the coated Ti−6Al−4V substrate has been improved. • The wear resistance of the coated Ti−6Al−4V substrate has been increased. • The durability of biomaterial Ti−6Al−4V alloy has been enhanced by TaO₂ coating.