Microstructure modification and corrosion resistance enhancement of die-cast Mg-Al-Re alloy by Sr alloying

The effects of Sr additions on the microstructure and corrosion performance of a Mg-Al-RE alloy in 3.5 wt.%Na Cl saturated with Mg(OH)_(2) have been investigated.Microstructure examination reveals that the Sr addition introduces additional intermetallic phases,refines intermetallic networks and dendritic grains,and improves the network continuity.More Al and rare earth elements can be identified in the intermetallics and grain boundaries or inter-dendrite regions under a transmission electron microscope and secondary electron microscope,respectively.On the Sr-containing intermetallic phases and the refined microstructure,the oxide films become more protective,resulting in more corrosion resistant boundary areas and thus dendrite grain grooves.Hence,the presence of large amounts of intermetallics and boundaries can enhance the corrosion performance of the Mg-Al-RE alloy containing Sr.

Microstructure refinement in biodegradable Zn-Cu-Ca alloy for enhanced mechanical properties,degradation homogeneity,and strength retention in simulated physiological condition

Zn-1.0Cu-0.5Ca(TA15)alloy has shown promising characteristics of enhanced mechanical properties and biodegradability for absorbable cardiovascular stents,endovascular devices,and wound closure devices applications.In this study,the TA15 alloy for bioabsorbable biomedical applications is investigated.In the conventionally cast TA15(TA15-C)alloy,CaZn_(13) phase are present as a large dendritic network with an average size of 73.25±112.84μm,Hot rolling of the TA15-C alloy has broken the long and dendritic network of the CaZn_(13) phases,however,the refined phases are observed as segregations and the distribution is non-uniform.These segregated CaZn_(13) suffered heavy localised corrosion which lead to poor mechanical properties in the as-fabricated condition and after biodegradation.Ultrasonic treatment(UST)during casting is identified as an effective technique for the refinement and redistribution of CaZn_(13) particles in TA15 alloy,which successfully reduce the size of the CaZn_(13) phase to 10.91±4.65μm in the as-solidified condition.After hot rolling,the UST processed TA15(TA15-UST)shows improved mechanical properties due to grain refinement and the reduction in microstructural defects,i.e.the broken CaZn_(13) phase.Results of 8-week immersion corrosion tests showed that both alloys possess very similar corrosion rate.However,TA15-UST has markedly improved corrosion homogeneity compared to TA15-N which favours the retention of mechanical properties even after prolonged exposure to physiological fluids.

The influence of Ca and Cu additions on the microstructure,mechanical and degradation properties of Zn-Ca-Cu alloys for absorbable wound closure device applications

Novel ternary Zn-Ca-Cu alloys were studied for the development of absorbable wound closure device material due to Ca and Cu’s therapeutic values to wound healing.The influence of Ca and Cu on the microstructure,mechanical and degradation properties of Zn were investigated in the as-cast state to establish the fundamental understanding on the Zn-Ca-Cu alloy system.The microstructure of Zn-0.5Ca-0.5Cu,Zn-1.0Ca-0.5Cu,and Zn0.5Ca-1.0Cu is composed of intermetallic phase CaZn13 distributed within the Zn-Cu solid solution.The presence of CaZn13 phase and Cu as solute within the Zn matrix,on the one hand,exhibited a synergistic effect on the grain refinement of Zn,reducing the grain size of pure Zn by 96%;on the other hand,improved the mechanical properties of the ternary alloys through solid solution strengthening,second phase strengthening,and grain refinement.The degradation properties of Zn-Ca-Cu alloys are primarily influenced by the micro-galvanic corrosion between Zn-Cu matrix and CaZn13 phase,where the 0.5%and 1.0%Ca addition increased the corrosion rate of Zn from 11.5μm/y to 19.8μm/y and 29.6μm/y during 4 weeks immersion test.

Galvanostatic anodic polarisation of WE43

The Mg corrosion mechanism was explored using galvanostatic polarisation curves,hydrogen evolution and weight loss.The data(a)were consistent with the existence of the uni-positive Mg+ion,(b)indicated that some hydrogen dissolved in the WE43 metal,and(c)indicated that self corrosion was more important than the applied current density in causing weight loss.

Erratum to： Building towards a standardised approach to biocorrosion studies： a review of factors influencing Mg corrosion in vitro pertinent to in vivo corrosion （vol 61, pg 475, 2018）

In the version of this Review originally published in the April, 2018 issue of Sci China Mater （2018, 61： 475-500, https：// doi.org/10.1007/s40843-017-9173-7）, the authors found a small error in Table 1. The corrected version of Table 1 appears below.

Manufacturing of graded titanium scaffolds using a novel space holder technique

To optimize both the mechanical and biological properties of titanium for biomedical implants,a highly flexible powder metallurgy approach is proposed to generate porous scaffolds with graded porosities and pore sizes.Sugar pellets acting as space holders were compacted with titanium powder and then removed by dissolution in water before sintering.The morphology,pore structure,porosity and pore interconnectivity were observed by optical microscopy and SEM.The results show that the porous titanium has porosity levels and pore size gradients consistent with their design with gradual and smooth transitions at the interfaces between regions of differing porosities and/or pore sizes.Meanwhile,the porous titanium has high interconnectivity between pores and highly spherical pore shapes.In this article we show that this powder metallurgy processing technique,employing the novel sugar pellets as space-holders,can generate porous titanium foams with well-controlled graded porosities and pore sizes.This method has excellent potential for producing porous titanium structures for hard tissue engineering applications.