Tribocorrosion behavior of Nb coating deposited by double-glow plasma alloying

Abstract Titanium and titanium alloys are considered as good implant materials, but their poor tribocorrosion resistance limits further development. In this study, niobium coating (DG-Nb) was deposited on TA3 pure titanium (Pure Ti) by double-glow plasma alloying aiming to improve the tribocorrosion resistance of Pure Ti. The properties of the samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM). Open circuit potential (OCP) and coefficient of friction (COF) tests were used to examine the tribocorrosion performance. The results showed that DG-Nb can largely enhance the tribocorrosion resistance of Pure Ti in Ringer’s physiological solution.