New hot rolled Mg-4Li-1Ca alloy: A potential candidate for automotive and biodegradable implant applications

Magnesium alloys have come to the fore as attractive lightweight structural materials owing to their high specific strength, whilst some of them are considered for bioresorbable implant applications. A new Mg-4Li-1Ca (LX41) alloy, processed by two-step rolling followed by annealing, showed extraordinary properties outperforming the existing Mg alloys in terms of specific strength, strain hardening ability, ductility, and cytocompatibility. The record-breaking superiority in mechanical properties combined with cytocompatibility qualifies the alloy for applications in lightweight engineering structures and bone implants.