• Trace oxygen addition effectively stabilizes the β phase in Ti-Nb alloys, reducing elastic modulus from 91 GPa to 24 GPa while maintaining high compressive strength (1404 MPa) and increasing yield strength to 904 MPa.
• The low-cost powder metallurgy process enables production of high-performance Ti-Nb alloys for orthopedic implants, offering a cost-effective alternative to expensive manufacturing routes.
• Interstitial oxygen modulates thermoelastic martensitic transformation, enhancing shape memory recovery properties, which is beneficial for implant applications requiring recoverable deformation.
• The study demonstrates a promising strategy to mitigate stress shielding in orthopedic implants by achieving low modulus comparable to bone (1-18 GPa) without significant strength compromise.