RESUMO
Three commercially available porcelains bonded to titanium were evaluated to determine the weakest zone of the titanium-porcelain bonding structures. Tensile bond tests were performed for these specimens (NO, DU, and VI) and for Ni-Cr alloy-porcelain bonding samples that served as controls. The maximum bond strengths between porcelain and titanium and the Ni-Cr alloy subjected to different metal surface treatments were compared. Sand blasting effectively increased bond strengths in titanium-porcelain bonding materials. No statistically significant differences in the maximum bond strengths were found between the NO sample and a control; however, sample NO exhibited greater maximum bond strength than DU and VI samples. The bond strengths increased with increasing area fractions of porcelain failure on fracture surfaces. The weakest zones were investigated based on the oxygen chemical states determined by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, which include bridging oxygen (Si-O-Si), nonbridging oxygen (Si-O(-) M(+)), and titanium oxide (O(2-)) states. We concluded that the titanium oxide layer is the weakest zone of titanium-porcelain bonding structures.
