Microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Rare Earths (RE) containing Mg-Zn alloy for biomedical applications

Abstract

Developing magnesium (Mg) based biomaterials for temporary medical implant applications is an active research area in the field of materials science and engineering. Biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and biodegradation are a few promising properties associated with Mg. However, addressing its rapid degradation in the biological environment is challenging. In this context, several new Mg alloys and composites have been developed for the past two decades and the degradation performance has been tailored. Therefore, in the present study, Rare Earths (RE) containing Mg-Zn alloy has been produced by die casting route and the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion performance has been evaluated. The produced alloy has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis. From the microstructural studies, presence of MgZn intermetallic was clearly observed at the grain boundaries as a network in addition to other intermetallics. Higher hardness was recorded at the vicinity of these intermetallics regions. Form the tensile tests, relatively higher strength was also measured for the alloy. Corrosion experiments by conducting potentiodynamic polarization tests using simulated body fluids as the electrolyte indicated better performance compared with several commercially available Mg alloys. Hence, the preliminary results of characterization of produced Rare Earths (RE) containing Mg-Zn alloy demonstrates as a potential candidate to manufacture degradable medical implants.