Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of biodegradable Zn-Mg-Zr alloys for biomedical applications

Abstract

• Biodegradable HR Zn-1Mg-xZr alloys are fabricated via alloying and hot-rolling. • HR Zn-1Mg-0.05Zr alloy shows YS of 218.0 MPa, UTS of 263.2 MPa, and EL of 12.1% • Hot-rolling enhances the YS, UTS, and EL due to the dynamic recrystallization. • HR Zn-1Mg-0.05Zr alloy possesses a degradation rate of 71 μm/y in Hanks’ solution. Zn-1Mg-xZr alloys were prepared via alloying with different Zr contents and hot-rolling, and their microstructures, mechanical properties, and corrosion behaviors were assessed systematically. The results indicated that the mechanical strength of as-cast and hot-rolled (HR) samples initially increased and subsequently decreased with increasing Zr addition. HR samples showed a substantial increase in yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation (EL) compared with their as-cast counterparts. HR Zn-1Mg-0.05Zr alloy showed higher mechanical property matching (218.0 MPa for YS, 263.2 MPa for UTS, 12.1% for EL) and an appropriate corrosion rate of 455 μm/y in Hanks’ solution among the Zn-1Mg-xZr alloys for biomedical applications.