Processing and Properties of Amorphous Magnesium-Based Eco-Materials

Magnesium alloys are the lightest known structural material and have been very attractive for usage in marine and transportation industry (for its weight savings and payload increase), and also for its portability in hand-held devices. It is recyclable and one of the most abundant metal. Lately, it has gained attention for its biocompatibility, and also its biodegradable properties depending on the alloying elements. They can be used as a biomaterial in various applications from heart stents to implant screws and fixtures. In this work, amorphous magnesium alloys have been processed, based on its glass forming ability, by various techniques in order to obtain its amorphous state, and the microstructure are characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. Their mechanical properties are also presented. High temperature tensile tests show similar strength to room temperature strength, while the total failure strain is significantly increased from around 0.5% to 10%.