Improvement of the biomedical properties of titanium using SMAT and thermal oxidation

Titanium and its alloys are excellent candidates for biomedical implant. However, they exhibit relatively poor tribological properties. In this study, a two-step treatment including surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) combined with thermal oxidation process has been developed to improve the tribological properties and biocompatibility of Ti. Ti after two-step treatment shows excellent wear-resistance and biocompatibility among all Ti samples, which can be ascribed to the highest surface energy, well crystallinity of rutile layer on its surface. Overall, the two-step treatment is a prospective method to produce excellent biomedical Ti materials.