Effect of N-ion implantation and diamond-like carbon coating on fretting wear behaviors of Ti6Al7Nb in artificial saliva

The tribology behaviors of Ti6Al7Nb, its alloy with N-ion implantation, and its alloy with diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating were investigated in artificial saliva. Fretting wear tests of untreated, N-ion implanted and DLC coated Ti6Al7Nb alloys plate against a Si3N4 ball were carried out on a reciprocating sliding fretting wear test rig. Based on the analysis of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, 3-D profiler, SEM morphologies and frictional kinetics behavior analysis, the damage behavior of surface modification layer was discussed in detail. The results indicated that the fretting wear behavior of Ti6Al7Nb alloy with N-ion implantation was increased with the dose increase of the implanted nitrogen ions. Moreover, the DLC-coated Ti6Al7Nb alloy with low ion implantation could improve the fretting wear behavior greatly. In addition, the Ti6Al7Nb with DLC coating had better corrosion resistance due to the special compact structure. All results suggested that the Ti6Al7Nb with DLC coating had better wear resistance than that with N-ion implantation in artificial saliva.