Abstract:
In the present study, highly porous Ti6Al7Nb alloy scaffolds having 70% pore contents with
200-250 µm average pore size were produced through the spacer holder technique as a result
of evaporation of Mg powder from the Ti6Al7Nb-Mg powder mixtures. In order to make the
manufactured Ti6Al7Nb foam surfaces more suitable for biomedical applications they were
exposed to alkali and heat treatment. Porous samples were immersed in 5M NaOH (aq.)
solutions at 60°C for 24 hours then subsequent heat treatment was carried out to obtain
crystalline sodium titanate layer. Crystallization heat treatments were also conducted in
muffle furnaces to investigate the effect of heat treatment environment on titanate formation.
Then, the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the formed titanate layers were
characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and TF-XRD techniques.
According to mechanical testing, produced Ti6Al7Nb alloy foams had elastic moduli and
yield strength very close to that of bone which makes them suitable for biomedical application
because of the lessened stress shielding problem