Fabrication of tantalum oxide/carbon nanotubes thin film composite on titanium substrate

The development of new biomaterials is one of the most challenging tasks in material science. Metals and particularly titanium and its alloys are widely used because of their good corrosion resistance, mechanical properties and biocompatibility. However, the toxicity of alloys, long term degradation in body fluids and risks of loosening are still problematic. To increase the corrosion resistance of the material and reduce ion release, our interest focused on tantalum, another metal well known for its excellent biocompatibility and resistance to bio-corrosion. These very good properties make tantalum a metal of interest for biomaterials but its high cost and high density disqualify it for use as bulk material. In this paper, we propose to combine the good bulk properties of titanium with the excellent surface properties of tantalum by using sol-gel deposition of a tantalum oxide layer on bare titanium. Furthermore, as orthopedics implants are part of our long term goals, we report on the formation of a composite layer of tantalum oxide and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). MWCNTs have been shown to have promising properties in contact with bone and bone cells and could strengthen the implant. Characterizations are performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).