Titanium-Niobium (Ti-xNb) Alloys with High Nb Amounts for Applications in Biomaterials

The present study produced binary titanium-niobium alloys Ti-xNb with high niobium percentage (x = 50, 80 e 90 wt.%) aiming to apply it as a base material in osseous implant devices. The produced TiNb alloys presented a cubic crystalline phase, lower corrosion rate than titanium, lower elastic modulus values, and superior cellular viability than titanium and niobium. The Ti50Nb alloy among all analyzed metallic substrates showed the best values of elastic modulus, corrosion properties, wettability, and cellular viability. Thus, this work suggests a Ti/Nb ratio close to 1 (Ti50Nb) displays optimum characteristics to apply in orthopedic devices.

Keywords:
Niobium; Titanium; elastic modulus; TiNb alloys; corrosion resistance