Influence of shallow and deep cryogenic treatment on the corrosion behavior of Ti6Al4V alloy in isotonic solution

This study investigated the corrosion behavior of cryogenically treated Ti6Al4V alloys in an isotonic solution. Samples were subjected to shallow or deep cryogenic treatment, and some samples then underwent an aging procedure. They were characterized by microstructural analysis, an open circuit potential test, an electrochemical impedance method, and a potentiodynamic test. The polarization tests demonstrated that the deep cryogenic treatment shifted the corrosion potential to more anodic values compared to the untreated sample. For all treated samples, it was found that the corrosion current densities were lower than those in the untreated sample, and the lowest current densities were registered for the sample subjected to deep cryogenic treatment for 36 hr. The shallow cryogenic treated samples and the sample aged without cryogenic treatment showed semicapacitive loops with poor corrosion impedance compared to the untreated sample, whereas deep cryogenic treatment produced Warburg impedance with diffusion in the solid phase.