Influence of Zinc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and in Vitro Corrosion Behavior of Magnesium-zinc Binary Alloys

Abstract

Magnesiumezinc alloy is a potential base material for biodegradable implant applications. In this study,the influence of zinc content (0.5e3 wt.%) in as-cast magnesiumezinc binary alloys towards themicrostructure, mechanical properties and in vitro corrosion behaviour was studied. Increase in zinccontent reduced the grain size of magnesiumezinc alloy. Mechanical properties such as yield strength,tensile strength and hardness improved with increase in zinc content. Potentiodynamic polarizationresults suggest that increase in zinc content enhanced the in vitro corrosion resistance of the alloy, whichcould be attributed to the combined effect of grain size refinement and even distribution of zinc on thealloy surface resulting in better passivefilm formation.