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Abstract
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Ti-Cu intermetallic alloys are considered as a potential substitute for conventional dental cast alloys due to their enhanced mechanical, antibacterial,
and biocompatibility behaviors. In this paper, the effects of sintering temperature on the densification, hardness, and antibacterial activity of a Ti-Cu
alloy obtained by a solid-state reaction have been studied. The TiCu and
Ti2Cu3 phases were identified as the major phases in the microstructure of the
synthesized material. The high hardness of 1000 HV and high antibacterial
activity against S. aureus and E. coli were obtained for the Ti-Cu intermetallic
alloy. The high hardness of the Ti-Cu alloy was attributed to its nanocrystalline grains, multi-phase structure and the large amounts of hard TiCu and
Ti2Cu3 phases in the microstructure, and its antibacterial behavior was due to
the release of Cu2+ ions around the sample in culture media of bacteria.
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