Metal-on-Metal (MoM) hip joint bearings have recently received increased scrutiny due to the large number of device failures and reports of pain from patients.  Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a useful technique for investigating the corrosion of surfaces with micrometer resolution.  SECM imaging provides a qualitative overview of the heterogeneous nature of the passivating tribolayer formed during mechanical wearing of the alloy in the presence of biological fluids.  Approach curves, in which the current of an ultramicroelectrode is monitored as a function of the electrode/substrate distance, allow for the extraction of rate constants for redox processes at the alloy.  In this work we compare the characteristics of a tribolayer formed on high-carbon alloy with earlier work the analogous low-carbon substrate.

Scanning electrochemical microscopy investigation of high carbon CoCrMo alloys used in metal-on-metal (MoM) hip joint bearings

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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