Abstract:Zirconium and its alloys have recently received considerable attention as candidate materials for dental implants due to its low modulus of elasticity, good corrosion resistance, and excellent biocompatibility. In this work, Zr-30Ti-xCu (x=0, 3, 7, wt%) alloys were designed by the valence electron concentration theory. The microstructures of the alloys were characterized using SEM/EDS and TEM/EDS. The mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, biocompatibility, and antibacterial activities of the alloys were characterized through microhardness testing, room-temperature tensile testing, electrochemical testing, contact angle testing, and antibacterial performance experiments. Results show that after quenching at 650 ℃/15 min, three alloy matrices are mainly composed of β phase. In the Cu-containing alloys, Zr2Cu second phase precipitates and the number of Zr2Cu particles increases with the increase in Cu content. With the increase in Cu content, the Vickers microhardness increases by 37%, and the contact angle decreases from 98.49° to 74.21°, indicating the surface wettability improvement which shows a significant inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Besides, the corrosion resistance of the alloy in physiological saline solution is enhanced. Three alloys have low elastic modulus (67.8–78.9 GPa) and cytotoxicity, but their relationship with Cu content is not obvious. It can be seen that Zr-30Ti-xCu alloy exhibits excellent comprehensive properties, which can provide theoretical basis and guidance for the selection of new dental metal implants.