Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of Mg-Zn-Ca-Zr Alloy for Biomedical Application

The microstructuresandcorrosion properties of the as-cast Mg-Zn-Ca-Zralloys were investigated in this study. The results showed that the alloy was mainly composed of -Mg solid solution,Zr particle and the secondary phase of Ca2Mg6Zn3. The grain size of alloy specimens decreased with the increment of Zr content. The corrosion resistances were found to increase from 0.3% to 0.5% and then decrease from 0.5% to 0.7%. The Mg-4Zn-0.5Ca-0.5Zr had the best corrosion resistance in SBF solution.This was attributed to a combination of (1) the uniform and fine microstructure of alloy, (2) continuous distributions of the secondary phases, and (3) a lower volume fraction of Zr particles.