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Microstructure, mechanical properties, and cytotoxicity of low Young’s modulus Ti–Nb–Fe–Sn alloys

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Abstract

Ti–26Nb–2Fe–(0, 2, 4, 6, 8)Sn alloys were prepared by arc melting and subjected to homogenization, cold rolling, and solution treatment. The β phase stability of the alloys increased with the addition of Sn. Ti–26Nb–2Fe comprised ω + β phases, whereas a single β phase was detected in Ti–26Nb–2Fe–(2, 4, 6, 8)Sn. With an increase in Sn, the Young’s modulus first decreased from 83 GPa in Ti–26Nb–2Fe to 58 GPa in Ti–26Nb–2Fe–4Sn and increased to 63 GPa in Ti–26Nb–2Fe–8Sn. Sn suppressed twinning during tension. Although the work-hardening rate decreased with the decrease of twinning, Sn was beneficial for maintaining a low work-hardening rate and postponed necking. All the alloys exhibited remarkably high plasticity. A strong solid solution strengthening effect of Sn was not observed in the studied Ti–Nb–Fe–Sn alloys. Ti–26Nb–2Fe–4Sn with a good combination of high tensile strength (yield strength of 592 MPa and tensile strength of 622 MPa) and low Young’s modulus (58 GPa) exhibited significantly higher cell viability than that of the control group after a 7-day culturing, indicating that it is a suitable candidate for biomaterials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, China (No. 15ZR1428400), Shanghai Engineering Research Center of High-Performance Medical Device Materials (No. 20DZ2255500), the project of Creation of Life Innovation Materials for Interdisciplinary and International Researcher Development, Tohoku University, Japan sponsored by Ministry, Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and the Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research (C) (No. 20K05139) from JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), Tokyo, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang Li, Tengfei Liu, Chao Cheng & Mitsuo Niinomi

  2. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of High-Performance Medical Device Materials, Shanghai, 200093, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang Li

  3. CAS Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Electronic Information Materials and Devices, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, CAS, 40-1 South Beijing road, Urumqi, 830011, People’s Republic of China

    Junjie Li

  4. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

    Mitsuo Niinomi, Kenta Yamanaka & Akihiko Chiba

  5. Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Mitsuo Niinomi & Takayoshi Nakano

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Meijo University, 1-501, Shiogamaguchi, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-8502, Japan

    Mitsuo Niinomi

  7. Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, 564-8680, Japan

    Mitsuo Niinomi

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  1. Qiang Li
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Contributions

QL: Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing, Funding acquisition. TL: Resources, Writing—original draft. JL: Investigation. CC: Resources. MN: Supervision, Funding acquisition. KY: Investigation. AC: Investigation, Supervision. TN: Supervision, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Qiang Li or Mitsuo Niinomi.

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Li, Q., Liu, T., Li, J. et al. Microstructure, mechanical properties, and cytotoxicity of low Young’s modulus Ti–Nb–Fe–Sn alloys. J Mater Sci 57, 5634–5644 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-06984-5

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