Journal of Materials Processing Technology 212 (2012) 10611069

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Journal of Materials Processing Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmatprotec

Processing and characterization of porous titanium for implants by using NaCl as space holder
Y. Torres a, , J.J. Pavn b , J.A. Rodrguez a
a b

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Seville, Avda. Camino de los Descubrimientos, s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain Biomaterials Research Group - BIOMAT, Bioengineering Programme, University of Antioquia, Calle 67, No. 53-108, Medelln, Colombia

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Porous samples of commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) were fabricated by using sodium chloride (NaCl) as space-holder with percentages between 40 and 70 vol%. The dissolution of NaCl in distilled water, the structural integrity of samples and the reproducibility of the procedure were studied as a step prior to sintering. All these parameters were evaluated in terms of the compaction pressure, temperature and agitation of water, and dissolution time. The characterization of samples included density, porosity and dynamic Youngs modulus. The results indicate that the most efcient lixiviation, according to the desired balance of properties, was by immersion in hot water, without agitation and for prolonged cycles of immersion time. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 13 September 2011 Received in revised form 23 December 2011 Accepted 24 December 2011 Available online 31 December 2011 Keywords: Porous titanium Space-holder technique Powder metallurgy Dynamic Youngs modulus Stress shielding

1. Introduction It is widely known in the biomaterials community that commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) is one of the best options for bone replacement, especially in dental implants and some joint replacements parts. This fact has always been associated with the excellent in vivo behavior of titanium due to the good balance between its mechanical, physicalchemical and bio-functional properties. However, one of its main drawbacks, which compromises the reliability of implants in many cases, is the mismatch between the Youngs modulus of the implant and that of cortical bone. This difference produces the stress-shielding phenomenon, which promotes bone resorption around the implant. A considerable amount of research has been dedicated to the development of new implant materials with bone-matching moduli; some of them have emphasized the use of porous materials. Gibson and Ashby (1997) and Banhart (2001) presented two essential reference works in this eld; they reviewed and discussed the structure, processing, properties and applications of different cellular solids and metal foams. There have been several manufacturing techniques for obtaining these materials reported in the literature. Parthasarathy et al. (2010) presented a micro-structural analysis and the mechanical characterization of porous Ti6Al4V structures

Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 954482276; fax: +34 954460475. E-mail address: ytorres@us.es (Y. Torres). 0924-0136/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2011.12.015

fabricated using electron beam melting. Shishkovsky et al. (2010) reported an original method to obtain porous titanium and nitinol by a combination of selective laser sintering and self-propagated high-temperature synthesis processes. Oppenheimer and Dunand (2009) obtained porous NiTi by creep expansion of argon-lled pores. An et al. (2005) employed environmental-electro-dischargesintering to fabricate fully porous and porous-surfaced Ti implants from atomized powders. Oh et al. (2003) processed porous Ti compacts by controlling sintering conditions and powder sizes; these authors found that Youngs modulus and bending strength for a porosity of around 30 vol%, is similar to those of human cortical bone. Wen et al. (2001) presented a new powder manufacturing process (known as the space-holder technique) for Ti and Mg metallic foams with a designed porosity. Regarding this particular processing technique the feasibility of its use to control porosity parameters is well known, as is the relative ease of removing the space-holder during steps prior to sintering. In fact, most of the space-holders are completely evaporated at low temperatures or are removed by a dissolution process, generally in water. Li et al. (2007) and Patnaik (2003) presented the advantages of using NaCl as the space-holder, such as low cost, fast dissolution in water, reduced etching of metal during dissolution, as well as much lower toxicity from residual content. Bansiddhi and Dunand (2008) remarked on the importance of the latter factor if the porous solid is designed for biomedical implants, because it is difcult to ensure that all space-holder is removed from the foam. To elucidate this matter, Khl et al. (2008) showed good adhesion and proliferation