Effect of annealing temperature on mechanical and antibacterial properties of Cu-bearing titanium alloy and its preliminary study of antibacterial mechanism

Cu-bearing titanium alloys are designed and studied as a novel medical metal material with antibacterial function. However, the addition of Cu would affect the mechanical properties of titanium alloy more or less, especially the ductility, despite its excellent antibacterial property. Thus, the aim of this study was to optimize the heat treatment for Cu-bearing titanium alloys in order to achieve a balance of satisfactory mechanical, antibacterial and other properties. In this study, Ti6Al4V-5 wt% Cu alloy was fabricated, and then different annealing treatments with various heating temperatures (700-910 °C) were employed on the alloy. The effects of heating temperature on microstructure evolution, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and antibacterial performance of Ti6Al4V-5Cu alloy were systematically studied. It was found that annealing at 740 °C for Ti6Al4V-5Cu alloy showed the best comprehensive properties of high strength, excellent ductility, corrosion resistance and antibacterial performance. The Ti₂Cu phases played an important role in the mechanical property and antibacterial performance for Ti6Al4V-5Cu alloy, and bacteria preferred to adhere on the α phase region, rather than the β or globule Ti₂Cu region.