Corrosion behavior and residual stress of microarc oxidation coated AZ31 magnesium alloy for biomedical applications

Abstract

Mg alloys are potentially new biomaterials for bone repair or replacement. Appropriate coating is, however, needed to make the Mg alloy more resistant to corrosion. In this research, protective microarc oxidation (MAO) coatings were produced on AZ31 Mg alloys in sodium phosphate electrolyte. The coatings were produced under varying pulse frequency, applied voltage, oxidation time and electrolyte concentrations. This research analyzed the effects of the above four MAO process control parameters on the residual stresses and the corrosion behavior. Optimization of the MAO control parameters would allow production of AZ31 Mg alloy with high corrosion resistance. It is well accepted that residual stress and corrosion behavior are two significant factors in the development of AZ31 Mg alloys. The residual stresses in the MAO coatings were evaluated by the X-ray diffraction (XRD)-sin²ψ method. A predictive model of the residual stresses is proposed and a principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted to determine the contribution of the MAO control parameter on the residual stresses. Long-term corrosion behavior of MAO-coated Mg alloys was evaluated by the potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. The porosity of the samples after various immersion durations was evaluated by the potentiodynamic polarization method. The pre- and post- corrosion microstructures and the phase composition of MAO-coated samples were studied. Post-corrosion phase identification showed that hydroxyapatite (HA) was formed on the surface of the samples. The ratio of Ca/P in HA was determined by the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique. The degradation of the MAO-coated AZ31 alloys is reduced due to the MAO coating and the formation of a corrosion product layer. A predictive model of the corrosion current density is proposed and a PCA was conducted to determine the contributions of the individual MAO control parameter on the corrosion rate. The corrosion process and mechanism of MAO-coated AZ31 alloys in SBF were modeled based on the electrochemical corrosion results and the pre- and post-corrosion surface analysis. It is believed that under optimized control parameters, the MAO-coated AZ31 Mg alloy is superior implant material for biomedical applications.