Niobium is a chemical element; it has symbol Nb and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has similar ductility to iron. Niobium oxidizes in Earth's atmosphere very slowly, hence its application in jewelry as a hypoallergenic alternative to nickel. Niobium is often found in the minerals pyrochlore and columbite, hence the former name "columbium". Its name comes from Greek mythology: Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, the namesake of tantalum. The name reflects the great similarity between the two elements in their physical and chemical properties, which makes them difficult to distinguish.
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine.
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engineering is the field dedicated to controlling and preventing corrosion.
In physical chemistry and engineering, passivation is coating a material so that it becomes "passive", that is, less readily affected or corroded by the environment. Passivation involves creation of an outer layer of shield material that is applied as a microcoating, created by chemical reaction with the base material, or allowed to build by spontaneous oxidation in the air. As a technique, passivation is the use of a light coat of a protective material, such as metal oxide, to create a shield against corrosion. Passivation of silicon is used during fabrication of microelectronic devices. Undesired passivation of electrodes, called "fouling", increases the circuit resistance so it interferes with some electrochemical applications such as electrocoagulation for wastewater treatment, amperometric chemical sensing, and electrochemical synthesis.
A galvanic anode, or sacrificial anode, is the main component of a galvanic cathodic protection system used to protect buried or submerged metal structures from corrosion.
Brazing is a metal-joining process in which two or more metal items are joined by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, with the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal.
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.
In modern Western body piercing, a wide variety of materials are used. Some cannot be autoclaved, and others may induce allergic reactions, or harbour bacteria. Certain countries, such as those belonging to the EU, have legal regulations specifying which materials can be used in new piercings.
Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderability, to harden, to improve wearability, to reduce friction, to improve paint adhesion, to alter conductivity, to improve IR reflectivity, for radiation shielding, and for other purposes. Jewelry typically uses plating to give a silver or gold finish.
Titanium alloys are alloys that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness. They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. However, the high cost of processing limits their use to military applications, aircraft, spacecraft, bicycles, medical devices, jewelry, highly stressed components such as connecting rods on expensive sports cars and some premium sports equipment and consumer electronics.
Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), also known as electrolytic plasma oxidation (EPO) or microarc oxidation (MAO), is an electrochemical surface treatment process for generating oxide coatings on metals. It is similar to anodizing, but it employs higher potentials, so that discharges occur and the resulting plasma modifies the structure of the oxide layer. This process can be used to grow thick, largely crystalline, oxide coatings on metals such as aluminium, magnesium and titanium. Because they can present high hardness and a continuous barrier, these coatings can offer protection against wear, corrosion or heat as well as electrical insulation.
Titanium hydride normally refers to the inorganic compound TiH2 and related nonstoichiometric materials. It is commercially available as a stable grey/black powder, which is used as an additive in the production of Alnico sintered magnets, in the sintering of powdered metals, the production of metal foam, the production of powdered titanium metal and in pyrotechnics.
Nitinol biocompatibility is an important factor in biomedical applications. Nitinol (NiTi), which is formed by alloying nickel and titanium, is a shape-memory alloy with superelastic properties more similar to that of bone, when compared to stainless steel, another commonly used biomaterial. Biomedical applications that utilize nitinol include stents, heart valve tools, bone anchors, staples, septal defect devices and implants. It is a commonly used biomaterial especially in the development of stent technology.
Colored gold is the name given to any gold that has been treated using techniques to change its natural color. Pure gold is slightly reddish yellow in color, but colored gold can come in a variety of different colors by alloying it with different elements.
Ti-6Al-4V, also sometimes called TC4, Ti64, or ASTM Grade 5, is an alpha-beta titanium alloy with a high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. It is one of the most commonly used titanium alloys and is applied in a wide range of applications where low density and excellent corrosion resistance are necessary such as e.g. aerospace industry and biomechanical applications.
Titanium was first introduced into surgeries in the 1950s after having been used in dentistry for a decade prior. It is now the metal of choice for prosthetics, internal fixation, inner body devices, and instrumentation. Titanium is used from head to toe in biomedical implants. One can find titanium in neurosurgery, bone conduction hearing aids, false eye implants, spinal fusion cages, pacemakers, toe implants, and shoulder/elbow/hip/knee replacements along with many more. The main reason why titanium is often used in the body is due to titanium's biocompatibility and, with surface modifications, bioactive surface. The surface characteristics that affect biocompatibility are surface texture, steric hindrance, binding sites, and hydrophobicity (wetting). These characteristics are optimized to create an ideal cellular response. Some medical implants, as well as parts of surgical instruments are coated with titanium nitride (TiN).
Chemical coloring of metals is the process of changing the color of metal surfaces with different chemical solutions.
Ti-6Al-7Nb is an alpha-beta titanium alloy first synthesized in 1977 containing 6% aluminum and 7% niobium. It features high strength and has similar properties as the cytotoxic vanadium containing alloy Ti-6Al-4V. Ti-6Al-7Nb is used as a material for hip prostheses.
Titanium adhesive bonding is an engineering process used in the aerospace industry, medical-device manufacture and elsewhere. Titanium alloy is often used in medical and military applications because of its strength, weight, and corrosion resistance characteristics. In implantable medical devices, titanium is used because of its biocompatibility and its passive, stable oxide layer. Also, titanium allergies are rare and in those cases mitigations like Parylene coating are used. In the aerospace industry titanium is often bonded to save cost, touch times, and the need for mechanical fasteners. In the past, Russian submarines' hulls were completely made of titanium because the non-magnetic nature of the material went undetected by the defense technology at that time. Bonding adhesive to titanium requires preparing the surface beforehand, and there is not a single solution for all applications. For example, etchant and chemical methods are not biocompatible and cannot be employed when the device will come into contact with blood and tissue. Mechanical surface roughness techniques like sanding and laser roughening may make the surface brittle and create micro-hardness regions that would not be suitable for cyclic loading found in military applications. Air oxidation at high temperatures will produce a crystalline oxide layer at a lower investment cost, but the increased temperatures can deform precision parts. The type of adhesive, thermosetting or thermoplastic, and curing methods are also factors in titanium bonding because of the adhesive's interaction with the treated oxide layer. Surface treatments can also be combined. For example, a grit blast process can be followed by a chemical etch and a primer application.
Electrochemical coloring of metals is a process in which the surface color of metal is changed by electrochemical techniques, i.e. cathodic or anodic polarization. The first method of electrochemical coloring of metals are certainly Nobili's colored rings, discovered by Leopoldo Nobili, an Italian physicist in 1826. In addition to the multicolored coatings mentioned, he has also been able to obtain monochrome coatings, and he called that technique metallocromia. Electrochemical coloring of metals based processes are black, green and blue nickel plating, black chromium plating, black rhodium plating and black ruthenium plating. Anodic oxidation of aluminum, titanium, niobium, tantalum and stainless steel are also electrochemical colouring processes. Multi-colored and green electrolytic patinas for copper and its alloys are also significant.
