(AGH University of Science and Technology Press, 2018) Loch, Joanna; Krawiec, Halina
Titanium alloys used in medical applications (especially dentistry) are exposed to the actions of various compounds that appear periodically in the mouth. Fluorine compounds are dangerous for the surface of titanium alloys, because they generate a dissolution of the passive layer. In this way, they destroy the surface of dental implants and cause the absorption of metal ions into the human body. The presented work was aimed to describe the effect of fluoride ions on the corrosive behavior of the commercial Ti-6Al-4V and new Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloys that can be used in stomatology. Electrochemical measurements such as open circuit potential (OCP), linear sweet voltamperometry (LSV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were performed to get information on the corrosive behavior of titanium in artificial saliva solutions (MAS) with different concentrations of NaF. It has been revealed that a high concentration of fluoride ions enhance the current density in the anodic domain, especially for the Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloy. EIS measurements performed at a potential of 0.5 V vs. AgCl (3 M KCl) show that the Ti-10Mo-4Zr alloy has a typical two-layer structure of its passive film. This passive film consists of the outer and inner layers, respectively. The resistance of the outer layer is significantly lower than the resistance of the inner layer.
(AGH University of Science and Technology Press, 2017) Szklarz, Zbigniew; Krawiec, Halina; Rogal, Łukasz
The effect of rapid cooling by the vacuum suction casting method (VSC) on the microstructure and electrochemical response of the as-cast 5052 aluminium alloy is presented. The VSC method allowed us to obtain massive samples with a very high cooling rate (10$^{2}$ - 10$^{3}$)°C/s. The microstructure of the quick-cooled sample (QC) has been significantly changed. Finer grains and more-homogeneous intermetallic phase distribution has been observed. Corrosion potential (OCP) and polarization measurements (LSV) revealed a higher activity of the QC alloy than ingot (IN), which leads to a denser and thicker corrosion-product formation on the surface. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) indicates higher resistance values, which suggests a greater thickness of the corrosion products.
