Tribological and Electrochemical Performance of Ag‐Doped and Undoped Different Ceramic Oxide Coatings Produced by Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction on Ti6Al4V‐Extra‐Low Interstitial Alloy Fabricated Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

Ti6Al4V‐extra‐low interstitial (ELI) is favored for biomedical applications but is restricted by low wear and corrosion resistance. To overcome these limitations, oxide‐based surface modifications can be applied to improve the mechanical and electrochemical properties. In this study, Al, Zn, and Zr oxide coatings, as well as their Ag‐doped counterparts, were produced on Ti6Al4V ELI alloys fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (LPBF‐AM) using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The structural and morphological features of the coatings were analyzed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, and a 3D profilometer, while Vickers hardness measurements were also performed. Tribological properties were examined using a pin‐on‐disk tester, and corrosion behavior was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in artificial saliva fluid. The results demonstrated that the Ag‐doped Zr coating exhibited the superior overall performance, reducing the wear rate to 0.37 × 10 −5 mm 3 /Nm compared to 3.5 × 10 −5 mm 3 /Nm for the untreated alloy. Furthermore, electrochemical tests revealed that Ag doping significantly enhanced corrosion resistance, with the Ag–Zr coating achieving a protection efficiency of approximately 86% and reducing the corrosion current density to 4.4 from 32.6 μA·cm −2 observed in the untreated substrate.