Formation of titanium/zirconia based biomaterial fabricated by spark plasma sintering

New biomaterials were fabricated by sintering powders of commercially pure titanium（CP-Ti）and partially-stabilized zirconia （PSZ）. The Ti/PSZ composites with different mass fraction of PSZ were consolidated by spark plasma sintering（SPS）at 1173 K and 1373 K. The microstructures of composites were characterized using a scanning electron microscope（SEM）, an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer（EDS）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）and an X-ray diffraction（XRD）. Vickers hardness tests, reciprocating wear tests, fracture toughness measurements, cell culture tests and electrochemical polarization tests were conducted to discuss their capability for biomaterials as a slide member. The composites with high wear resistance were achieved by sintering at 1373 K with high mass fraction of PSZ; however, fracture toughness showed low value. In contrast, the composites sintered at relatively low temperature of 1173 K with low mass fraction of PSZ showed high wear resistance and fracture toughness. Furthermore, electrochemical characteristics and biocompatibility of composites sintered at 1173 K tended to improve as the mass fraction of PSZ decreased.