Surface treatment by plasma carbonitriding of Ti-6Al-4V alloy for dental implants

Resumo

In recent years, intensive development of dentistry stimulates the demand for new titanium implant materials created by surface engineering. Plasma nitriding is proposed as a solution to improve the biocompatibility. This work investigated the influence of plasma carbonitriding on the roughness and contact angle of Ti6Al4V treated in a Ar / N2 / CH4 plasma for 3 h and 6 h at 600 °C. The characterization was made by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Theta Lite Optical Tensiometer, and laser confocal microscopy. The XRD results indicated the formation of Ti3N1.29 and Ti2N phase. It was observed that the surface roughness increases from 0.24 to 0.87 ?m after 3 h and from 0.24 to 1.09 ?m after 6 h of carbonitriding. The contact angle was 38° and 30° for 3 h and 6 h, respectively.