The new materials needed to be made into powders to check their purity, but beta-Ti3Au, as it is known, was too tough to be ground in a diamond-coated mortar and pestle.
The material “showed the highest hardness of all Ti-Au [titanium-gold] alloys and compounds, but also compared to many other engineering alloys”, said Prof Morosan.
She said the hardness of the substance, together with its higher biocompatibility, made it a “next generation compound for substantively extending the lifetime of dental implants and replacement joints”.
The alloy is the hardest known metallic substance compatible with living tissues, say US physicists. The material is four times harder than pure titanium and has applications in making longer-lasting medical implants, they say.
from Stowe Boyd http://www.stoweboyd.com/post/147908543272
