Tailoring surface characteristics of bioabsorbable Mg-Zn-Dy alloy using friction stir processing for improved wettability and degradation behavior

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are currently under consideration for use as temporary implants. However, early degradation and maintaining mechanical integrity is a significant concern. Surface modification techniques are used to improve mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg based alloys. In the present study, friction stir processing (FSP) was used to tailor the surface characteristics of Mg-1Zn-2Dy (wt.%) alloy for temporary implant applications. The FSPed alloy was characterized using EBSD to understand the influence of FSP on crystallographic texture, grain size and grain boundaries and thereby their effect on corrosion, wettability and hardness. Results showed that the grain size of stir zone (SZ) was refined to less than 3 μm, as a result of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during FSP and the FSPed alloy exhibited better wettability than as-cast alloy. An increase in the hardness (11.7%) and elastic modulus (6.84%) of FSPed alloy were also observed. Electrochemical corrosion and weight loss methods were conducted in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) with, 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) physiological solution. The lower degradation rate (0.72 mm/yr) of FSPed alloy has been attributed to the fine grains and evenly distributed secondary phase particles. Further, the influence of grain boundary characteristics and crystallographic texture on the corrosion behavior have been investigated.