An ultra-light Mg-Li alloy with exceptional elastic modulus, high strength, and corrosion-resistance

Abstract

In this paper, a new Mg-Li alloy with exceptional Young’s modulus, great specific strength, and outstanding corrosion-resistance has been successfully developed, exceeding any reported values of elastic modulus of currently available for Mg alloys. The newly invented alloy reaches an elastic modulus of 60.83 GPa after heat treatment and a corrosion rate of 0.989 mm per year without any surface treatment. X-ray computed tomography and nanoindentation have proven the 3D distribution of hard secondary phases (AlLi and Al-X) with average equivalent diameters of 4.1 µm and 5.1 µm influencing modulus, hardness, and corrosion rate.