Investigation Nano-Mechanical Properties of NiTi alloy Modified by Carbon Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation

Due to ultra-high flexural flexibility, shape memory effect, high damping properties, corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility, the nitinol alloys (NiTi) are widely used in the manufacture of medical and biocompatible materials, such as stent, orthopedic implants and surgical instruments. But one of the most important problems of NiTi alloy is the release of nickel ions due to the destruction of the surface, which these ions can interfere with the enzymatic processes involved in protein synthesis and cell proliferation. The applied coating and ion implantation is one of the most important methods for improving the surface and behavior of the NiTi alloy. In this study, surface of NiTi alloy was modified by carbon plasma immersion ion implantations (CPIII). Then nanomechanical properties of coating were surveyed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) with nano-indentation, nano-scratch methods, and also corrosion behavior was investigated by polarization test in 0.5 M NaCl solution. The results indicate a completely homogeneous, uniform and free surface imperfection with a carbon ion implantation depth of about 50 nm, and decreased average surface roughness from 34to 25 nm. The ion implantation process resulted in increasing the hardness and elastic modulus of 80.7% and 21.8%, respectively, and reducing the average friction coefficient from 0.21 to 0.16, and also making dominant the shear wearing mechanism, with a 85% increase in corrosion resistance efficiency.