Development of surface structure and characteristics of thermally oxidized β-Ti alloy for biomedical applications

Thermal oxidation (TO) of a novel metastable β-titanium (Ti) alloy was carried out in air at 450, 650 and 850 °C for selected periods of time. This research aims to investigate the effect of the TO process performed at different conditions on the morphological features of the oxidized layer created over the surface of the investigated Ti–15Zr–12Nb (wt%) (TZN) alloy with more focus on its influence on some properties required for biomedical applications. The results of the surface morphological characteristics revealed the formation of the high-quality oxide layer due to precious selecting of the oxidation time and cooling rate for each temperature used. Moreover, a significant increase in surface roughness, micro-hardness and wear resistance was resulted for TZN alloy samples compared to that of the untreated sample.