Relation between LPSO structure and biocorrosion behavior of biodegradable GZ51K alloy

• The LPSO structure in GZ51K alloy can be adjusted by heat treatment.
• The GZ51K alloy with more LPSO structure exhibits slower corrosion rate.
• The GZ51K alloy with LPSO structure presents uniform corrosion morphology.

Mg–5Gd–1Zn–0.6Zr (GZ51K, wt%) alloy was heat treated at different temperatures in order to study the effect of long period stacking ordered (LPSO) structure on corrosion behavior of the alloy for biomedical applications. The results show that the volume fraction of the LPSO structure increases firstly, then decreases and disappears with increasing heat treatment temperature. The LPSO structure is of great importance to the corrosion behavior of the alloy. More volume fraction of the LPSO structure leads to better corrosion resistance of the alloy, while the GZ51K alloy without the LPSO structure shows rapid corrosion rate and severely localized corrosion.