Ion Implantation on Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (Uhmwpe) for Medical Prosthesis

In order to improve the wear resistance of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a surface modification is induced by ion implantation of different ions at 300 keV energy with doses ranging between 10¹⁴ -10¹⁷ ions/cm². Wear measurements, in terms of weight loss, are performed with a “pin on disc” friction machine; these tests measure the wear properly of the UHMWPE against a metallic probe before and after the ion implantation treatment. Results demonstrate that in the implanted samples the wear resistance increases by about 76% with respect to the non-irradiated samples. The irradiated polymeric layer was characterized with the mass quadrupole spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption analysis, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and calorimetric analysis. The results suggest that wear decrease effect can be attributed to the ion bombardment inducing a high carbon surface concentration and cross-linking effects in the irradiated polymeric layer. The irradiated UHMWPE surfaces find special applications in the field of the mobile prosthesis such as hip joints.