Improving Physical Properties (Density, Porosity, Wettability, and Young’s modulus) of Titanium Metal Through Small Liquid Metal Gallium Additions Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy for Biomedical Applications

This study investigates the influence of liquid metal ga additions (1-2.5 wt%) on the structural, physical, and biological properties of ti metal, which are fabricated by the powder metallurgy method. The alloys were manufactured by sintering at 1250 °c to improve the metallic implants for biotribological applications. Xrd, sem and edx analyses were used to identify the predominant compounds and phases before and after gallium addition. The structural examination by xrd and sem showed an improvement in the crystal structure distribution and a phase transformation, with a significantly smaller grain size due to the increased gallium content. A change in the proportions of the predominant phases was observed, with the appearance of intermetallic compounds tiga₃ and ti₃ga. The density, porosity, wettability, and young's modulus were also tested. The results indicate a decrease in the density, wettability, and young's modulus of the samples at different concentrations and an increase in the porosity of the samples with the lowest density occurring at 1% ga, attributed to the formation of a disordered solid solution with decreased atomic packing efficiency, which reduces the density overall. This resulting in increased porosity due to incomplete densification during sintering. In addition, ga reacts with ti at higher ga concentrations to form an intermetallic compound tiga₃ and ti₃ga, through metal bonding. This intermetallic compound forms a chemically compatible interface, thereby reducing the contact angle and enhancing wettability. The low young's modulus of the samples is due to the very low young's modulus of ga, about (9.8 gpa), and to distortion of the crystal lattice, increased atomic void volume, and the formation of weakly bonded intermetallic compounds. Finally, cytotoxicity and biocompatibility tests were performed on the samples. The results showed low cytotoxicity to mcf-10 at concentrations of up to 50 µg/ml for all samples, and this gradually increased with higher concentrations up to 100 µg/ml, due to the potential release of gallium ions. The increase in gallium led to increased cytotoxicity, but it remained within acceptable limits. This makes all samples promising candidates for biomaterials applications