Factors having influence on the rheological properties of Ti6A14V slurry.

A highly porous Ti6Al4V could be produced with a porous polymeric sponge and Ti6Al4V slurry. However, the rheological properties of Ti6Al4V slurry appeared to be the key issue in the preparation of porous Ti6Al4V. In this study, factors having influence on the rheological properties of Ti6Al4V slurry were addressed in detail. Ti6Al4V powders, organic thickening agents (binders), dispersants, concentration of powder and pH values were optimised with regard to the rheological properties of Ti6Al4V slurry. The results show that Ti6Al4V powder with a mean diameter of 45 microm and spherical shape is beneficial for the preparation of Ti6Al4V slurry. Meanwhile binders with two ingredients, which decompose at different temperatures, have the advantage to keep the shape after debinding. The optimised procedure, based on the findings, made it possible to produce highly porous Ti6Al4V with reticulate porous structure. Porous Ti6Al4V produced by this way is expected to be a promising biomaterial for tissue engineering scaffolds and orthopaedic implant applications.