Effects of surface finishing and dissolved oxygen on the polarization behavior of Zr₆₅Al_7.5Ni₁₀Cu_17.5 amorphous alloy in phosphate buffered solution

The present study evaluates the effects of surface finishing and dissolved oxygen in phosphate buffered saline solution on the corrosion behavior of Zr₆₅Al_7.5Ni₁₀Cu_17.5 amorphous alloy for the application of the alloy to biomaterials. Non-polished and polished alloys were polarized in deaerated electrolyte, and the polished alloy was also polarized with various concentrations of dissolved oxygen. The surface of the alloy was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corrosion resistance of the alloy decreased with metallic nickel and hydroxide ion in surface oxide after polishing. The pitting corrosion resistance also decreased with the hydroxide ion after polishing. On the other hand, the pitting-corrosion resistance increased with aerating 4% O₂ because of the decrease of hydroxide ion and adsorbed phosphate ion in the surface oxide. However, oxygen above 4% O₂ prevented dissolution of nickel, causing the decrease of the pitting-corrosion resistance. When the pH was 2.2, the dissolved oxygen did not influence the pitting-corrosion resistance because of the increased solubility of the surface oxide. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.