A systematic investigation was undertaken on commercially pure titanium submitted to plasma nitriding. Thirteen different sets of operational parameters (nitriding time, sample temperature and plasma atmosphere) were used. Surface analyses were performed using X-ray diffraction, nuclear reaction and scanning electron microscopy. Wear tests were done with stainless steel Gracey scaler, sonic apparatus and pin-on-disc machine. The obtained results indicate that the tribological performance can be improved for samples treated with the following conditions: nitriding time of 3 h; plasma atmosphere consisting of 80%N2+20%H2 or 20%N2+80%H2; sample temperature during nitriding of 600 or 800 °C.
plasma nitriding; tribology; titanium; dental implants
