Practical applications of metal/ceramic joints can be found in the biomedical field regarding the encapsulation of implantable telemetric devices, the fabrication of crowns and bridges for dental restoration, or in the production of drug delivery systems, biomedical sensors and electrodes. Most of metal/ceramic joints are produced by the active metal brazing technique, which originates a multi-layered interface which should be able of accommodating the abrupt electronic, crystallographic, chemical, mechanical and thermo-mechanical discontinuity that characterize these systems. Additionally, when considering biomedical applications, corrosion resistance becomes of prime importance. In this work, the corrosion resistance of Ti/glass-ceramic interfaces obtained by active metal brazing was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. The electrochemical behaviour of the interface was monitored, as a function of time, in a simulated physiological solution at room temperature. In order to evaluate the contribution of each layer and galvanic interactions between them, to the degradation mechanism of the interface, individual samples, representative of reaction layers present at the interface, were fabricated and electrochemically tested. Results show that the corrosion behaviour, of the whole interface was strongly influenced by the chemical composition of its constitutive layers. Thus, layers containing high contents of both titanium and silver showed a polarisation resistance increase with the immersion time, as a result of the formation of a thermodynamically stable passive film. On the other hand, the copper rich layer, appears to be the main responsible for the interface degradation. In fact, for high immersion times, an instable passive film is formed and, as a consequence, large amounts of copper are released. Galvanic interactions between the copper and the silver rich layers where also identified.

External corrosion is one of the most common causes of oilwell casing failure. Hostile environments can be due to acidizing treatments. Although it is common to add corrosion inhibitors and oxygen scavengers in acidic solutions to control external casing corrosion, their real efficiency is unknown yet. Therefore, it is important to establish how aggressive to steel are the different hostile environments to help decide which acidic systems can be used. A comparative evaluation of the corrosion of steel immersed in hardened cement slurries submitted to commonly acidizing agents is suggested. The performance of Special Class Portland Cement Slurries reinforced with polished SAE 1045 steel was evaluated by electrochemical measurements as a function of time. Open circuit potential, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were studied. 15.0 wt% HCl, 12.0 wt% HCl + 3.0 wt% HF (regular mud acid), 10.0 wt% HAc + 1.5 wt% HF and a simulated hardened cement slurry pore solution were used as electrolytes. The most aggressive acid solution to plain Portland hardened cement slurries was the regular mud acid. 10.0 wt% HAc + 1.5 wt% HF electrolytes were the least aggressive ones, showing open circuit potentials around +250 mV compared to -130 mV of the simulated hardened cement slurry pore solution after the first 24 hours of immersion. This behavior was observed during two months at least. Similar corrosion rates were shown between both electrolytes, around 0.01 μA.cm-2. Total impedance values, insipient arcs and large polarization resistance capacitive arcs on the Nyquist plots, indicating passivity process, confirmed the behaviour of the system in the 10.0 wt% HAc + 1.5 wt% HF electrolyte.

ResumoPróteses parciais fixas são empregadas na reabilitação da forma e função de dentes parcial ou totalmente comprometidos e devem permanecer permanentemente unidas aos remanescentes dentários. O material mais utilizado na confecção de próteses odontológicas é a porcelana feldspática. Contudo, ela apresenta propriedades mecânicas limitadas para reposição de espaços edêntulos extensos. A associação da porcelana com sistemas metálicos de níquel-cromo (sistema metalocerâmico) permite que a infra-estrutura metálica compense a natureza frágil da porcelana, preservando-se tanto a isolação térmica como a estética desejáveis, além de reduzir a possibilidade do surgimento e crescimento de trincas durante os esforços mastigatórios. Falhas coesivas por baixa resistência mecânica da porcelana comunicam a estrutura metálica com o ambiente oral, caracterizado pela presença de uma solução eletrolítica (saliva), pela agressividade das variações cíclicas de temperatura, pH e por solicitações mecânicas. Este processo resulta na liberação de íons metálicos que podem desencadear respostas alérgicas ou inflamatórias, e/ ou na degradação clínica precoce do sistema metalocerâmico. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito da presença de uma camada intermediária de titânio sobre o comportamento de sistemas metalocerâmicos dentários. A aplicação por plasma de um filme fino de titânio gera uma camada óxida passivante regular que protege o substrato metálico contra os efeitos corrosivos da saliva. Ensaios tribocorrosivos foram realizados para simular o ambiente oral, detectando precocemente a formação de trincas no sistema metalocerâmico, o que qualifica a aderência entre os componentes do referido sistema. Foram produzidas amostras planas nas quais suspensões de porcelana feldspática odontológica foram depositadas e queimadas sobre substratos metálicos modificados por filme fino de titânio, comparando-as com o sistema metalocerâmico convencional, sem titânio. O sistema modificado por titânio apresentou melhor comportamento, caracterizando-se pelo menor número de traços de fratura superficial adjacentes à área do ensaio tribocorrosivo. Palavras-chave: metalocerâmica, tribocorrosão, titânio, metalização. Abstract Partial fixed prosthodontic restoration is used to rehabilitate both the form and function of partial or total compromised teeth and must remain permanently joined to the remaining teeth. The most useful material in prosthodontics is