Ultra-fine grained pure Titanium for biomedical applications

Ti-based materials are one of the most important materials used in biomedical engineering. Recently, commercially pure (CP) Ti has attracted significant attention of research community due to its full biocompatibility with human body, and there is an ongoing demand to improve its mechanical properties without sacrificing other beneficial properties. A possible approach to achieving this aim is to use the method of severe plastic deformation (SPD) to obtain an ultra-fine grained (UFG) microstructure. Significant grain refinement by SPD processing leads to an improvement in mechanical and functional properties. This paper gives an overview of a range of the properties that can be achieved in the UFG CP Ti including microstructural features, mechanical properties, corrosion performance and biocompatibility. Attention is paid to the main SPD processing techniques developed for the fabrication of UFG CP Ti. Current and potential applications of UFG CP Ti in biomedical engineering are also considered.