[{"user_id":"69776","oa":"1","main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053"}],"keyword":["Biomaterial","In Situ Alloying","Titanium","Additive Manufacturing"],"has_accepted_license":"1","abstract":[{"text":"<jats:p>Titanium alloys are widely employed for biomedical implants due to their high strength, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance, yet their lack of intrinsic antibacterial activity remains a major limitation. Incorporating copper, an antibacterial and β-stabilising element, offers a promising strategy to enhance implant performance. This study investigates Ti-6Al-7Nb modified with 1–9 wt.% Cu via in situ alloying during metal-based laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M), with the aim of assessing processability, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties. Highly dense samples (&gt;99.9%) were produced across all Cu levels, though chemical homogeneity strongly depended on processing parameters. Increasing Cu content promoted β-phase stabilisation, Ti2Cu precipitation, and pronounced grain refinement. Hardness and yield strength increased nearly linearly with Cu addition, while ductility decreased sharply at ≥5 wt.% Cu due to intermetallic formation, hot cracking, and brittle fracture. These results illustrate both the opportunities and constraints of rapid alloy screening via PBF-LB/M. Overall, moderate Cu additions of 1–3 wt.% provide the most favourable balance between mechanical performance, manufacturability, and potential antibacterial functionality. These findings provide a clear guideline for the design of Cu-functionalised titanium implants and demonstrate the efficiency of in situ alloy screening for accelerated materials development.</jats:p>","lang":"eng"}],"doi":"10.3390/cryst15121053","file":[{"success":1,"date_updated":"2025-12-12T13:12:33Z","relation":"main_file","date_created":"2025-12-12T13:12:33Z","access_level":"closed","content_type":"application/pdf","file_id":"63073","file_name":"crystals-15-01053.pdf","file_size":20716652,"creator":"paulstei"}],"title":"In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion","issue":"12","article_number":"1053","volume":15,"type":"journal_article","ddc":["620"],"publication":"Crystals","quality_controlled":"1","department":[{"_id":"158"},{"_id":"321"}],"publication_status":"published","citation":{"chicago":"Steinmeier, Paul, Kay-Peter Hoyer, Nelson Filipe Lopes Dias, Reiner Zielke, Wolfgang Tillmann, and Mirko Schaper. “In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion.” <i>Crystals</i> 15, no. 12 (2025). <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053</a>.","short":"P. Steinmeier, K.-P. Hoyer, N.F. Lopes Dias, R. Zielke, W. Tillmann, M. Schaper, Crystals 15 (2025).","ieee":"P. Steinmeier, K.-P. Hoyer, N. F. Lopes Dias, R. Zielke, W. Tillmann, and M. Schaper, “In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion,” <i>Crystals</i>, vol. 15, no. 12, Art. no. 1053, 2025, doi: <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">10.3390/cryst15121053</a>.","mla":"Steinmeier, Paul, et al. “In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion.” <i>Crystals</i>, vol. 15, no. 12, 1053, MDPI AG, 2025, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">10.3390/cryst15121053</a>.","bibtex":"@article{Steinmeier_Hoyer_Lopes Dias_Zielke_Tillmann_Schaper_2025, title={In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion}, volume={15}, DOI={<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">10.3390/cryst15121053</a>}, number={121053}, journal={Crystals}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Steinmeier, Paul and Hoyer, Kay-Peter and Lopes Dias, Nelson Filipe and Zielke, Reiner and Tillmann, Wolfgang and Schaper, Mirko}, year={2025} }","ama":"Steinmeier P, Hoyer K-P, Lopes Dias NF, Zielke R, Tillmann W, Schaper M. In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion. <i>Crystals</i>. 2025;15(12). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">10.3390/cryst15121053</a>","apa":"Steinmeier, P., Hoyer, K.-P., Lopes Dias, N. F., Zielke, R., Tillmann, W., &#38; Schaper, M. (2025). In Situ Alloying of Ti-6Al-7Nb with Copper Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion. <i>Crystals</i>, <i>15</i>(12), Article 1053. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053\">https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst15121053</a>"},"intvolume":"        15","author":[{"full_name":"Steinmeier, Paul","first_name":"Paul","last_name":"Steinmeier"},{"first_name":"Kay-Peter","full_name":"Hoyer, Kay-Peter","last_name":"Hoyer"},{"last_name":"Lopes Dias","full_name":"Lopes Dias, Nelson Filipe","first_name":"Nelson Filipe"},{"first_name":"Reiner","full_name":"Zielke, Reiner","last_name":"Zielke"},{"last_name":"Tillmann","first_name":"Wolfgang","full_name":"Tillmann, Wolfgang"},{"first_name":"Mirko","full_name":"Schaper, Mirko","last_name":"Schaper"}],"article_type":"original","date_updated":"2025-12-12T14:02:13Z","_id":"63072","file_date_updated":"2025-12-12T13:12:33Z","status":"public","year":"2025","publication_identifier":{"issn":["2073-4352"]},"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"publisher":"MDPI AG","funded_apc":"1","date_created":"2025-12-12T13:11:59Z"}]