Influence of potential on the electrochemical behaviour of β titanium alloys in Hank’s solution

The electrochemical behaviour of β titanium alloys, namely Ti–15Mo (TiMo) and Ti–29Nb–13Ta–4.6Zr (TNTZ), were studied under physiological conditions using open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) measurements. The OCP data for TNTZ alloy indicated a noble behaviour compared to TiMo alloy. The current density value for TNTZ alloy calculated from polarization measurement was found to be comparable to that of TiMo. The EIS technique was applied to study the nature of the passive film formed on binary TiMo alloy at various impressed potentials and the results were compared with that of the quaternary TNTZ alloy. The EIS spectra obtained for TiMo alloy exhibited a single time constant for all potentials, indicating a highly compact passive layer over the surface. The TNTZ alloy, however, exhibited a single time constant at lower potentials and two time constants at higher potentials, indicating a bilayer structure at higher potentials.