Production, Mechanical Properties and Biomedical Characterization of ZrTi-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses in Comparison with 316L Stainless Steel and Ti6Al4V Alloy.

Edyta Bożemska,Beata Sobieszczańska,Michał Biały,Amadeusz Łaszcz,Mariusz Hasiak,Tomasz Zatoński,Jacek Chęcmanowski,Magdalena Wawrzyńska

doi:10.3390/ma15010252

Abstract

Microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility were studied for rapidly cooled 3 mm rods of Zr40Ti15Cu10Ni10Be25, Zr50Ti5Cu10Ni10Be25, and Zr40Ti15Cu10Ni5Si5Be25 (at.%) alloys, as well as for the reference 316L stainless steel and Ti-based Ti6Al4V alloy. Microstructure investigations confirm that Zr-based bulk metallic samples exhibit a glassy structure with minor fractions of crystalline phases. The nanoindentation tests carried out for all investigated composite materials allowed us to determine the mechanical parameters of individual phases observed in the samples. The instrumental hardness and elastic to total deformation energy ratio for every single phase observed in the manufactured Zr-based materials are higher than for the reference materials (316L stainless steel and Ti6Al4V alloy). A scratch tester used to determine the wear behavior of manufactured samples and reference materials revealed the effect of microstructure on mechanical parameters such as residual depth, friction force, and coefficient of friction. Electrochemical investigations in simulated body fluid performed up to 120 h show better or comparable corrosion resistance of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses in comparison with 316L stainless steel and Ti6Al4V alloy. The fibroblasts viability studies confirm the good biocompatibility of the produced materials. All obtained results show that fabricated biocompatible Zr-based materials are promising candidates for biomedical implants that require enhanced mechanical properties.

Highlights

Metallic glasses belong to a relatively new group of advanced engineering materials, which exhibit enhanced mechanical properties [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
It is well known that the enhanced physical properties of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses produced by the rapid cooling technique, compared to their classical counterparts, are due to their microstructure [26,27,77,78,79]
The highest number of inclusions was observed in the Si-containing sample, whereas the most uniform amorphous structure was found in the sample with the lowest Ti content

Summary

Introduction

Metallic glasses belong to a relatively new group of advanced engineering materials, which exhibit enhanced mechanical properties [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The manufacturing process of these materials requires a particular chemical composition [11,12,13,14,15] and high cooling rates [16,17,18], which can be obtained by a rapid solidification technique [18,19,20]. These production conditions provide sufficiently fast heat dissipation, restraining the possibility of reorganizing free atoms into the ordered crystal lattice. From the point of view of potential application, the mechanical parameters of the metallic glasses mentioned above result in high resistance to scratching and abrasive wear [35,36,37,38,39]

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Conclusion