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Abstract

Silicon (Si) based implantable components are widely used to restore functionalities in the human body. However, there have been reported instances of Si corroding after only a few years of implantation. A key parameter often overlooked when assessing Si stability in-vitro, is the added constricting geometries introduced through in-vivo implantation. The influence of crevices and confined solutions on the stability of Si is presented in this study, considering two simulated physiological solutions: 0.01 M phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and HyClone Wear Test Fluid (WTF). It was found that Si is highly vulnerable to corrosion in confined/crevice conditions. High pitting corrosion susceptibility is found in a crevice, whereas a dissolution rate of ca. 3.6 nm/h at body temperature occurred due to local alkalization within a confined cathodic area. The corrosion rates could be increased by elevating the temperature and yielded linear Arrhenius relations, with activation energies of 106 KJ/mol in 0.01MPBS and 109 KJ/mol in HyClone WTF, corresponding to a phosphorous-silicon interaction mechanism. Phosphorous species favored corrosion and contributed to enhanced Si dissolution, while chlorides were not so influential, and applied anodic potential induced pseudo-passivation. These results highlight the importance geometrical configurations can have on a material's surface stability. (c) The Author(s) 2019. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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