Corrosion behavior of CoCrMoW cast alloy in lactic acid environment for surgical applications

The corrosion behavior of CoCrMoW alloy in lactic acid environment during 168 h of immersion at 37 °C has been studied and assessed by means of electrochemical techniques (open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)). Further, the oxide film thickness formed after immersion and the quantity of ions released have been evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma optical spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A good correlation between the results, related to the oxide film thickness, obtained from these experimental techniques was achieved. The research has also shown that the tendency of growing of oxide film becomes slower as the time of immersion is longer. The higher corrosion resistance of CoCrMoW alloy in lactic acid environment is due to the formation of the oxide film highly enriched in Cr(III) on the alloy surface. With a small corrosion rate, e.g. 45 nm year⁻¹, this alloy is characterized as “Perfect Stable” according to ISO 8044/2000. Overall, the present study provides additional evidences with respect to the benefic influence of tungsten on passivity, explained by a higher resistance to pitting corrosion of the CoCrMoW alloy in lactic acid with sodium chloride.