Structure, Properties, and Corrosion Behavior of Ti-Rich TiZrNbTa Medium-Entropy Alloys with β+α″+α′ for Biomedical Application

Five Ti-rich β+α″+α′ Ti–Zr–Nb–Ta biomedical medium-entropy alloys with excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance were developed by considering thermodynamic parameters and using the valence electron concentration formula. The results of this study demonstrated that the traditional valence electron concentration formula for predicting phases is not entirely applicable to medium-entropy alloys. All solution-treated samples with homogeneous compositions were obtained at a low temperature (900 °C) and within a short period (20 min). All solution-treated samples exhibited low elastic moduli ranging from 49 to 57 GPa, which were significantly lower than those of high-entropy alloys with β phase. Solution-treated Ti(65)–Zr(29)–Nb(3)–Ta(3) exhibited an ultra-high bending strength (1102 MPa), an elastic recovery angle (>30°), and an ultra-low elastic modulus (49 GPa), which are attributed to its α″ volume fraction as high as more than 60%. The pitting potentials of all samples were higher than 1.8 V, and their corrosion current densities were lower than 10(–5) A/cm(3) in artificially simulated body fluid at 37 °C. The surface oxide layers on Ti(65)–Zr(29)–Nb(3)–Ta(3) comprised TiO(2), ZrO(2), Nb(2)O(5), and Ta(2)O(5) (as discovered through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and provided the alloy with excellent corrosion and pitting resistance.