Abstract
The stability of the Co–Cr–Mo dental alloy immersed in artificial salivas (pH 6.7) was investigated over 24 h. Three artificial salivas have been studied: saline saliva (saliva I); saline saliva buffered with phosphate ions (saliva II) and saliva II plus mucin molecules (saliva III). For all the systems, open circuit potential shift positively over 24 hours of immersion. Data extracted from the steady-state polarization curves demonstrated that the Co–Cr–Mo alloy has higher corrosion potential in saliva III, lower corrosion potential in saliva I and lower initial corrosion resistance in saliva III. After 24 hours of immersion in the artificial salivas, the Co–Cr–Mo alloy presents high corrosion stability, due to the protective action created by the presence of corrosion products. From the analysis of the breakdown potential it was concluded that, the presence of the phosphate ions and mucin promote the oxidation process, inducing the formation of etch pits. Regarding the effect of the mucin concentration in the corrosion behaviour of the Co–Cr–Mo dental alloy, it was observed a negative shift in the corrosion potential, pointing to a cathodic inhibitor role for the mucin molecules. Nevertheless, no correlation between the mucin concentration and corrosion rate was possible to establish.