Surface characteristics of Ti6Al4V alloy: effect of materials, passivation and autoclaving

The properties of passivated films for Ti6Al4V alloy prepared by various methods (as-polished, brazed at 970 °C for 2 h and brazed at 970 °C for 8 h) were investigated. Four passivations (non-treated, nitric acid passivation, 400 °C-treated in air, and aged in boiling water), with or without autoclaving treatments, were adopted for evaluating the changes of surface properties, including chemical composition, chemical structure, and oxide thickness. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses, surface elements of copper and nickel in brazed samples were undetected for non-treated, acid-passivated and boiling water-aged specimens, while they were found in the 400 °C-treated specimen. The relative contents of Ti2++Ti3+ to Ti4+ were determined by passivation treatments, but were not related to the experimental materials and autoclaving treatment. Passivation and autoclaving decreased the Ti to Ti4+ ratio by virtue of an increase in oxide thickness. Of the four types of passivation treatment, the 400 °C thermal treatment exhibited the lowest content of suboxides and metallic elements and the thickest oxide by XPS analysis; however, this treatment may cause a desorption of the basic OH group in the hydration layer on the surface of titanium alloy.