Mechanical and bio-corrosion properties of quaternary Mg–Ca–Mn–Zn alloys compared with binary Mg–Ca alloys

• Quaternary alloy show better mechanical and corrosion properties than binary alloy.
• Mg–2Ca–0.5Mn–2Zn alloy showed suitable mechanical properties for bone application.
• The improved corrosion resistance with addition of Mn and Zn into the Mg–Ca alloy.
• Formation of protective surface film Mn-containing magnesium on quaternary alloy.
• Secondary phases have strong effect on micro-galvanic corrosion of Mg alloys.

Binary Mg–xCa alloys and the quaternary Mg–Ca–Mn–xZn were studied to investigate their bio-corrosion and mechanical properties. The surface morphology of specimens was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results of mechanical properties show that the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of quaternary alloy increased significantly with the addition of zinc (Zn) up to 4 wt.%. However, further addition of Zn content beyond 4 wt.% did not improve yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. In contrast, increasing calcium (Ca) content has a deleterious effect on binary Mg–Ca alloys. Compression tests of the magnesium (Mg) alloys revealed that the compression strength of quaternary alloy was higher than that of binary alloy. However, binary Mg–Ca alloy showed higher reduction in compression strength after immersion in simulated body fluid. The bio-corrosion behaviour of the binary and quaternary Mg alloys were investigated using immersion tests and electrochemical tests. Electrochemical tests shows that the corrosion potential (Ecorr) of binary Mg–2Ca significantly shifted toward nobeler direction from −1996.8 to −1616.6 mVSCE with the addition of 0.5 wt.% manganese (Mn) and 2 wt.% Zn content. However, further addition of Zn to 7 wt.% into quaternary alloy has the reverse effect. Immersion tests show that the quaternary alloy accompanied by two secondary phases presented higher corrosion resistance compared to binary alloys with single secondary phase. The degradation behaviour demonstrates that Mg–2Ca–0.5Mn–2Zn alloy had the lowest degradation rate among quaternary alloys. In contrast, the binary Mg–2Ca alloy demonstrated higher corrosion rates, with Mg–4Ca alloy having the highest rating. Our analysis showed the Mg–2Ca–0.5Mn–2Zn alloy with suitable mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance can be used as biodegradable implants.