Enhancing strength and ductility of pure titanium by interstitial oxygen atoms

Pure titanium is an ideal material for tissue replacements and implant materials for its superior biocompatibility and corrosion resistance , but its limited strength remains a major obstacle to its wide applications. A promising strategy for enhancing the strength is to alloy the pure titanium with oxygen. Herein, we reported an oxygen solid solution strengthening for pure titanium by achieving a titanium-oxygen (Ti–O) alloy using ball milling (BM) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of oxygen contents, ranging from 0.33 to 2.08 wt%, on the mechanical properties of pure titanium was systematically investigated. Experimental results indicate that the Ti–O alloy with the oxygen content of 1.95 wt% reached an ultrahigh yield strength of 2026 MPa and showed a large ductility of 11.2% in compression. According to the quantified analysis of strengthening mechanisms, solid solute oxygen atoms are responsible for the balance of superior yield strength and ductility of the Ti–O alloys.