Evaluation of mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg-14.3Li-0.8Zn alloy in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution as a biodegradable implant material

Abstract

Using magnesium as the main material for Biodegradable implants is very promising because magnesium has almost identical Mechanical Properties as Human Bone. However, Magnesium’s High Degradation Rate and Hydrogen Evolution in human body fluid have become the main problem for using pure magnesium as a biodegradable implant. One of the ways to overcome that problem is by adding alloying elements to the pure magnesium. This paper will review about Mg-14.3Li-0.8Zn (LZ141) regarding the influence of Lithium and Zinc on magnesium alloy. The As-Cast of Mg-14.3Li-0.8Zn was prepared through a homogenizing process at 350 °C for 3 hours. Then, the homogenized sample’s Mechanical properties were inspected through Metallographic Examination, Micro-Vickers, Tensile Strength, and SEM-XRD Testing. The corrosion behavior was examined in simulated body fluid (SBF) through an Immersion test for two weeks and Polarization Testing. The Mechanical and Corrosion test result indicated that the addition of lithium and zinc decreased the degradation rate and hydrogen evolution of Mg-14.3Li-0.8Zn material compared to pure magnesium. With that result, we can assume that Mg-14.3Li-0.8Zn is promising to be the future material used for biodegradable implants.