Abstract
One cause of aseptic loosening of total hip replacement (THR) results from the hard polymetylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement debris embedded within some of acetabular cups [1]. To prevent this failure, PMMA can be replaced by a titanium coating with a specific roughness to promote the bone bonding. In this work, inert and atmospheric plasma spraying was used to coat Ti.6A1.4V implants with titanium.] In order to evaluate the effect of the deposition process on the coating corrosion resistance, different electrochemical techniques were implemented in physiological (i. e., Ringer) and in acidic solutions. Results show that the spraying parameters and the coating morphology affect the corrosion behaviour. Thus, if the reactivity is not affected by the pH evolution, the pitting sensitivity depends on the process. It was found that coatings deposited under inert gas are free of oxides and dense, even when the atmosphere contains some hydrogen. In that case a significant improvement of the intrinsic localized corrosion resistance is observed versus deposits obtained using atmospheric plasma spraying.
