In the era of rapid development, the term titanium alloy has entered everyone's ears, and pure titanium has also appeared at the same time, but many people always can't tell the difference between titanium alloy and pure titanium, so let's take a look at the difference between titanium alloy and pure titanium.
Titanium alloy is a metal composite material based on titanium, with alloy elements such as aluminum, vanadium, molybdenum, and tin added. With its unique combination of properties, it occupies a crucial position in aerospace, medical, industrial, and other fields, and is recognized as the "strategic metal of the 21st century". Pure titanium refers to a metal material with a titanium content of ≥99%. Due to its unique physical and chemical properties, it has irreplaceable advantages in lightweight, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and other fields.
Pure titanium is the most primitive "plain" form of titanium metal. It adheres to purity with a titanium content of ≥99%, and contains only a very small amount of natural impurities such as iron, oxygen, and nitrogen (total amount <1%). This almost harsh purity makes it a "minimalist" in the industrial field - without the interference of deliberately added alloy elements, the atoms are arranged most naturally, retaining the most original chemical inertness and physical properties of titanium metal. It is like an uncarved raw stone. Although it lacks complex performance dimensions, it lays the foundation for "native advantages" such as corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.
Titanium alloy is the product of the collision between human wisdom and metal properties. In the titanium matrix, alloy elements such as aluminum, vanadium, molybdenum, and tin are like "collaborative partners" with a mission, and are integrated into it at a ratio of several percent to more than ten percent. Aluminum is a "strength architect" that supports the skeleton of the material through solid solution strengthening; vanadium is a "toughness harmonizer" that improves the ductility of the crystal structure; molybdenum is a "high-temperature guard" that improves the stability of the material in extreme environments. This multi-faceted collaboration is not a simple superposition, but through the rearrangement of the atomic level, it constructs a performance matrix that exceeds that of a single metal, making titanium alloy a customizable "industrial transformer".
In the battlefield of corrosion resistance, pure titanium is a "natural defender". The nano-scale titanium dioxide film that spontaneously forms on its surface is like a molecular-level armor that can resist the salt spray erosion of seawater, the acid and alkali corrosion of chemical solutions, and even remain chemically inert in human body fluids. This property makes it a golden material for medical implants. When the pure titanium dental implant is embedded in the alveolar bone, this film will form a biological bond with the human tissue, avoiding the rejection reaction caused by the precipitation of metal ions.
Although the corrosion resistance of titanium alloys is the same as that of pure titanium, it needs to be carefully balanced during the alloying process. For example, copper-containing titanium alloys may cause local corrosion due to differences in electrode potential. At this time, surface coating or vacuum melting process is needed to bridge the gap in the "armor". However, in the field of high temperature resistance, titanium alloys show significant advantages: pure titanium will gradually soften above 300℃, while high-temperature alloys such as Ti-1100 can work stably in aircraft engines at 500℃. The secret lies in the optimization of the oxide film structure by alloying elements, which inhibits atomic diffusion and lattice distortion at high temperatures.
Well, this is the difference between pure titanium and titanium alloy. You can compare them to understand more.
