%0 journal article
%@ 1047-4838
%A Zhao, D., Ebel, T., Yan, M., Qian, M.

%D 2015
%J JOM: Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society
%N 10
%P 2236-2243 
%R doi:10.1007/s11837-015-1590-6
%T Trace Carbon in Biomedical Beta-Titanium Alloys: Recent Progress
%U https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-015-1590-6
10 
%X Owing to their relatively low Young’s modulus, high strength, good resistance to corrosion, and excellent biocompatibility, β-titanium (Ti) alloys have shown great potential for biomedical applications. In β-Ti alloys, carbon can exist in the form of titanium carbide (TiC x ) as well as interstitial atoms. The Ti-C binary phase diagram predicts a carbon solubility value of 0.08 wt.% in β-Ti, which has been used as the carbon limit for a variety of β-Ti alloys. However, noticeable grain boundary TiC x  particles have been observed in β-Ti alloys containing impurity levels of carbon well below the predicted 0.08 wt.%. This review focuses its attention on trace carbon (≤0.08 wt.%) in biomedical β-Ti alloys containing niobium (Nb) and molybdenum (Mo), and it discusses the nature and precipitation mechanism of the TiC x  particles in these alloys.