Interfacial oxidations of pure titanium and titanium alloys with investments.

External oxides of a commercially pure titanium (cpTi), Ti6Al4V alloy, and an experimental beta-type titanium alloy (Ti 53.4 wt%, Nb 29 wt%, Ta 13 wt%, and Zr 4.6 wt%) were characterized after heating to 600, 900, 1150, and 1400 degrees C in contact with three types of investments (alumina cement, magnesia cement, and phosphate-bonded) in air. XRD studies demonstrated that MgO, Li2TiO3 and/or Li2Ti3O7 were formed through reactions with the metal and the constituents in the magnesia cement-investment after heating to 900, 1150, and 1400 degrees C. Except for these conditions, TiO2 (rutile) was only formed on cpTi. For titanium alloys, the other components apart from Ti also formed simple and complex oxides such as Al2O3 and Al2TiO5 on Ti6Al4V, and Zr0.25Ti0.75Nb2O7 on the beta-type titanium alloy. However, no oxides containing V or Ta were formed. These results suggest that the constituents of titanium alloys reacted with the investment oxides and atmospheric oxygen to form external oxides due to the free energy of oxide formation and the concentration of each element on the metal surface.