Towards designing high mechanical performance low-alloyed wrought magnesium alloys via grain boundary segregation strategy:A review

Low-alloyed magnesium(Mg)alloys have emerged as one of the most promising candidates for lightweight materials.However,their further application potential has been hampered by limitations such as low strength,poor plasticity at room temperature,and unsatisfactory formability.To address these challenges,grain refinement and grain structure control have been identified as crucial factors to achieving high performance in low-alloyed Mg alloys.An effective way for regulating grain structure is through grain boundary(GB)segregation.This review presents a comprehensive summary of the distribution criteria of segregated atoms and the effects of solute segregation on grain size and growth in Mg alloys.The analysis encompasses both single element segregation and multi-element co-segregation behavior,considering coherent interfaces and incoherent interfaces.Furthermore,we introduce the high mechanical performance low-alloyed wrought Mg alloys that utilize GB segregation and analyze the potential impact mechanisms through which GB segregation influences materials properties.Drawing upon these studies,we propose strategies for the design of high mechanical performance Mg alloys with desirable properties,including high strength,excellent ductility,and good formability,achieved through the implementation of GB segregation.The findings of this review contribute to advancing the understanding of grain boundary engineering in Mg alloys and provide valuable insights for future alloy design and optimization.

Towards developing Mg alloys with simultaneously improved strength and corrosion resistance via RE alloying

Magnesium(Mg)alloys have received an increasing interest in the past two decades for their tremendous application potential.The strength and corrosion resistance levels of common Mg alloys are still relativity low,and especially they are to be improved simultaneously.The addition of rare earth(RE)to Mg alloys is believed to be beneficial for both the strength and corrosion resistance,and some RE-modified traditional Mg alloys have been studied and some new RE-containing Mg alloys have been developed by now.However,further simultaneous improvements in both strength and anti-corrosion require a better understanding of the behavior and mechanism of RE in Mg alloys.In this review,the common influence mechanisms of RE on mechanical and anti-corrosion properties of Mg alloys are summarized,and the latest research progress of RE-containing Mg alloys with simultaneously improved strength and corrosion resistance are introduced.It is demonstrated that the research on high-strength and high corrosion resistant RE-containing Mg alloys is still immature,and some opinions and suggestions are put forward for the synergetic improvement of the strength and corrosion resistance of Mg alloys,so as to contribute to the further development of Mg alloys with higher performance.

Designing new low alloyed Mg-RE alloys with high strength and ductility via high-speed extrusion

Two new low-alloyed Mg-2RE-0.8Mn-0.6Ca-0.5Zn(wt%,RE=Sm or Y)alloys are developed,which can be produced on an in-dustrial scale via relatively high-speed extrusion.These two alloys are not only comparable to commercial AZ31 alloy in extrudability,but also have superior mechanical properties,especially in terms of yield strength(YS).The excellent extrudability is related to less coarse second-phase particles and high initial melting point of the two as-cast alloys.The high strength-ductility mainly comes from the formation of fine grains,nano-spaced submicron/nano precipitates,and weak texture.Moreover,it is worth noting that the YS of the two alloys can maintain above 160 MPa at elevated temperature of 250°C,significantly higher than that of AZ31 alloy(YS:45 MPa).The Zn/Ca solute segregation at grain boundaries,the improved heat resistance of matrix due to addition of RE,and the high melting points of strengthening particles(Mn,MgZn_(2),and Mg-Zn-RE/Mg-Zn-RE-Ca)are mainly responsible for the excellent high-temperature strength.

Developing new Mg alloy as potential bone repair material via constructing weak anode nano-lamellar structure

The mechanics-corrosion and strength-ductility tradeoffs of magnesium(Mg)alloys have limited their applications in fields such as orthopedic implants.Herein,a fine-grain structure consisting of weak anodic nano-lamellar solute-enriched stacking faults(SESFs)with the average thickness of 8 nm and spacing of 16 nm is constructed in an as-extruded Mg96.9Y1.2Ho1.2Zn0.6Zr0.1(at.%)alloy,obtaining a high yield strength(YS)of 370 MPa,an excellent elongation(EL)of 17%,and a low corrosion rate of 0.30 mm y−1(close to that of high-pure Mg)in a uniform corrosion mode.Through scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy(SKPFM),one-dimensional nanostructured SESFs are identified as the weak anode(∼24 mV)for the first time.The excellent corrosion resistance is mainly related to the weak anodic nature of SESFs and their nano-lamellar structure,leading to the more uniform potential distribution to weaken galvanic corrosion and the release of abundant Y^(3+)/Ho^(3+)from SESFs to form a more protective film with an outer Ca_(10)(PO_(4))_(6)(OH)_(2)/Y_(2)O_(3)/Ho_(2)O_(3) layer(thickness percentage of this layer:72.45%).For comparison,the as-cast alloy containing block 18R long period stacking ordered(LPSO)phase and the heat-treated alloy with fine lamellar 18R-LPSO phase(thickness:80 nm,spacing:120 nm)are also studied,and the characteristics of SESFs and 18R-LPSO phase,such as the weak anode nature of the former and the cathode nature of the latter(37-90 mV),are distinguished under the same alloy composition.Ultimately,we put forward the idea of designing Mg alloys with high mechanical and anti-corrosion properties by constructing"homogeneous potential strengthening microstructure",such as the weak anode nano-lamellar SESFs structure.

Corrosion mechanism of Mg alloys involving elongated long-period stacking ordered phase and intragranular lamellar structure

It is a long-term challenge to further improve the corrosion resistance while ensuring the strength of magnesium(Mg)alloys.Revealing the effect of potential fluctuation on the micro-galvanic corrosion and the subsequent film formation is important for understanding the corrosion mechanism of Mg alloys with multiple strengthening phases/structures.Here,we prepared the high-strength Mg-14.4Er-1.44Zn-0.3Zr(wt.%)alloys containing hybrid structures,i.e.,elongated long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)blocks+intragranular stacking faults(SFs)/LPSO lamellae.The Mg alloy with elongated LPSO blocks and intragranular LPSO lamellae(EZ-500 alloy)obtains good corrosion resistance(2.2 mm y^(–1)),while the Mg alloy containing elongated LPSO blocks and intragranular SFs(EZ-400 alloy)shows a significantly higher corrosion rate(6.9 mm y^(–1)).The results of scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy(SKPFM)show the elongated LPSO blocks act as cathode phase(87 mV in EZ-400 alloy),and the SFs serve as the weak anode(30 mV in EZ-400 alloy),resulting in high potential fluctuation in EZ-400 alloy.On the contrary,both elongated blocks and intragranular lamellae are cathodic LPSO phase(67–69 mV)in EZ-500 alloy,leading to a lower potential fluctuation.Quasi in-situ atomic force microscope(AFM)observation indicates that high potential fluctuation would cause strong micro-galvanic corrosion,and subsequently leads to the failure in rapid formation of corrosion film,finally forming a loose and porous film,while relatively low potential fluctuation could result in more uniform corrosion mode and facilitate the rapid formation of protective film.Therefore,we propose that it is an effective way to develop high-strength corrosionresistant Mg alloys by controlling the potential fluctuation to form a“uniform potential”strengthening microstructure。

Simultaneously improving mechanical and anti-corrosion properties of extruded Mg-Al dilute alloy via trace Er addition

Simultaneously improving the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of magnesium(Mg)alloys is a long-standing challenge to be solved in their engineering applications.In this work,we find that trace Er addition can improve the mechanical and anti-corrosion properties of Mg-1.4Al-0.4Mn-0.4Ca-0.3Er(wt%,AMXE)dilute alloy synergistically,especially reducing the corrosion rate(0.75 mm y-1)by one order of magnitude compared with the reference Mg-1.4Al-0.4Mn-0.4Ca(AMX)alloy and making it comparable to that of high-purity Mg.Adding trace Er reduces the dynamic recrystallization degree and increases the strengthening phase particles,which is mainly responsible for the increase of yield strength by 42 MPa.The addition of Er promotes the formation of much less noble Al8Mn4Er with effective Fe trapping ability and induces dislocation segregation,thus dramatically reducing micro-galvanic corrosion tendency.Meanwhile,Er addition promotes the formation of a more passivation and dense corrosion film.These two factors together lead to the extremely low corrosion rate of AMXE alloy.Our findings are expected to promote the development of low alloyed high performance Mg alloys.