Effect of minor content of Gd on the mechanical and degradable properties of as-cast Mg-2Zn-xGd-0.5Zr alloys

RE-containing Mg alloys used as biodegradable medical implants exhibit good promising application due to their good mechanical properties and degradation resistance. In this work, effect of Gd on the microstructure, mechanical properties and biodegradation of as-cast Mg-2Zn-xGd-0.5Zr alloys was investigated. The results showed that there were mainly ia-Mg, I-phase, W-phase and MgZn2 phase in Mg-Zn-Gd-Zr alloys. With increase of the Gd content, the strength of the alloys was enhanced due to the second phase strengthening and grain refinement. The degradation resistance of Mg-2Zn-0.5Zr alloy was increased by adding 0.5%-1% Gd due to the uniformly distributed second phases which acted as a barrier to prevent the pitting corrosion. However, increasing Gd content to 2% reduced the degradation resistance of the alloy due to the galvanic corrosion between the matrix and the second phases. The good degradation resistance and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-2Zn-1Gd-0.5Zr alloy makes it outstanding for biomaterial application. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.