Progress in processing of porous titanium: a review

As a novel structural and functional material, porous titanium and its alloys have been widely used in the aerospace, marine engineering and biomedical fields due to their high corrosion resistance, low density, good biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties. Therefore, in this paper, a comprehensive review of powder metallurgy (PM) (including additive manufacturing (AM) processes) for fabricating porous titanium is firstly covered in terms of their working principles, capabilities, shortcomings and strengths. Simultaneously, the influencing factors of various methods on final pore structure of porous Ti are involved. Secondly, a summary of the chemical methods (CM) to obtain the porous Ti is also provided, such as dealloying method and reduction method. Finally, the tendency and direction of preparation technology as well as application of porous titanium were prospected. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)