Effects of zirconium and oxygen plasma ion implantation on the corrosion behavior of ZK60 Mg alloy in simulated body fluids

The effects of Zr, O, and Zr&O plasma ion implantation on the corrosion behavior of ZK60 Mg alloy are investigated in simulated body fluids (SBF). Immersion tests reveal little surface damage after Zr and Zr&O implantation initially and after 30 h immersion, corrosion protective products including Mg(OH)2, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, Ca3(PO4)2⋅3H2O, and zirconium phosphate are formed. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is conducted to investigate the mechanism. Zr&O plasma implanted samples offers 37-fold decrease in icorr, 62-fold decrease in RP, much lower CPE1, and much higher phase maxima. Plasma ion implantation is an effective technique to modify the initial corrosion resistance of ZK60 Mg alloy.