Preparation of medical Mg–Zn alloys and the effect of different zinc contents on the alloy

Abstract In recent years, along with the development and application of magnesium alloys, magnesium alloys have been widely used in automotive, aerospace, medicine, sports, and other fields. In the field of medical materials, magnesium not only has the advantage of light weight, high strength, and a density similar to that of human bone, but also has good biocompatibility and promotes the growth of human bone. However, the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys need to be further improved to meet the requirements for human biodegradable implants. In this study, three alloys (mass fractions: Mg–10Zn, Mg–20Zn, and Mg–30Zn (wt.%)) were prepared using powder metallurgy by homogeneously mixing powders of the above materials in a certain amount with magnesium as the substrate through the addition of zinc elements, which also have good biocompatibility. The effect of zinc on the microstructure, mechanical properties, wear performance, and corrosion resistance of magnesium–zinc alloys was studied when the zinc content was different. The results show that compared with the traditional magnesium alloy using powder metallurgy, prepared magnesium alloy has good resistance to compression and bending, its maximum compressive stress can reach up to 318.96 MPa, the maximum bending strength reached 189.41 MPa, and can meet the mechanical properties of the alloy as a human bone-plate requirements. On the polarization curve, the maximum positive shift of corrosion potential of the specimens was 73 mv and the maximum decrease of corrosion-current density was 53.2%. From the comparison of the above properties, it was concluded that the three prepared alloys of which Mg–20% Zn had the best overall performance. Its maximum compressive stress, maximum bending strength, and corrosion-current density reached 318.96 MPa, 189.41 MPa and 2.08 × 10 −5 A·cm −2 respectively, which are more suitable for use as human implant bone splints in human-body fluid environment.