Mechanical alloying of Mg-Zn-Ca-Er alloy

Abstract

Magnesium-based materials are promising alternatives for medical applications, due to their characteristics, such as good mechanical and biological properties. Which opens many possibilities for biodegradable materials to be used as lessinvasive options for treatment. The degradation is prompted by its chemical composition and microstructure. Both those aspects can be finely adjusted by proper manufacturing process, such as mechanical alloying (MA). Furthermore, MA allows for alloying of elements, that normally would be really hard to mix due to their very different properties. Magnesium usually needs various alloying elements, which can further increase its. Alloying magnesium with rare earth elements is considered to greatly improve the aforementioned properties. Due to that fact erbium was used as one of the alloying elements, alongside zinc and calcium to obtain Mg64Zn30Ca4Er1 alloy via mechanical alloying. The alloy was milled in the SPEX 8000 Dual Mixer/Mill high energy mill under an argon atmosphere for 8, 13, and 20 hours. It was assessed by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, granulometric analysis, and hardness. The hardness values reached 232, 250, and 302 HV respectively, which is closely related to their particle size. The average particle sizes were 15, 16, and 17 μm respectively.