Effect of Indium on the Properties of Mg-Zn-Based Alloys

In this study, indium was added to the binary Mg-Zn alloy to prepare an ultrafine-grained ternary Mg-Zn-In alloy with enhanced mechanical and corrosion properties. The bulk Mg-Zn-In alloy was synthesized through a combination of mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy techniques. The SPEX 8000 mixer mill was used to carry out the process under an argon atmosphere. The mixed powders were mechanically alloyed for 24 h. The mixture was uniaxially pressed at a compacting pressure of 600 MPa. The green compacts were sintered under a protective argon atmosphere at 300 °C for 1 h. The evolution of the microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties of Mg-based alloys was studied. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the phase and microstructure. The changes in hardness and corrosion properties were also measured. Compared to binary Mg-Zn alloy samples modified with In, the samples exhibited a higher microhardness, which can be related to structure refinement and phase distribution. Based on the results of electrochemical testing, it was observed that the modified samples exhibited an improved level of corrosion resistance compared to the Mg-Zn binary alloy.