The Influence of Chemical Surface Treatment on the Corrosion Resistance of Titanium Castings Used in Dental Prosthetics

Air abrasion process is used for cleaning casting surface of prosthetic components, and to prepare the surface of these elements for the application of veneering items. Its side effect, however, is that abrasive particles are embedded in the treated surface, which can be up to 30% of the surface and it constitutes the side effect of this procedure. Such a significant participation of foreign material can not be indifferent to the properties of the surface. Embedded particles can be the place of stress concentration causing cracking of ceramics, and may deteriorate corrosion resistance by forming corrosive microlinks. In the latter cases, it would be advisable to remove elements embedded into the surface. The simplest method is chemical etching or electrochemical one. Nevertheless, these procedures should not significantly change the parameters of the surface. Among many possible reagents only a few fulfills all the above conditions. In addition, processing should not impair corrosion resistance of titanium, which is one of the most important factors determining its use as a prosthetic restoration in the mouth. The study presented results of corrosion resistance of titanium used to make prosthetic components by means of casting method, which were subjected to chemical processing designed to remove the embedded abrasive particles. The aim of the study was to investigate whether etching with selected reagents affects the corrosion resistance of titanium castings. For etching the following reagents were used: 30% HNO3 + 3% HF + H2O, HNO3+ HF+ glycerol (1:2:3), 4% HF in H2O2, 4% HF in H₂O, with a control sandblasted sample, not subjected to etching. Tests demonstrated that the etching affected corrosion properties of test samples, in each case the reduction of the corrosion potential occurred - possibly due to the removal of particles of Al2O3 from the surface and activation of the surface. None of the samples underwent pitting corrosion as a result of polarization to 9 V. Values of the polarization resistance, and potentiodynamic characteristics indicated that the best corrosion resistance exhibited the samples after etching in a mixture of 4% solution of HF in H2O2. They showed very good passivation of the surface.