Corrosion behavior of MgZnCa bulk amorphous alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Centimeter-sized Mg₆₅Zn₃₀Ca₅ bulk amorphous alloys were fabricated by the spark plasma sintering process from the amorphous powders with a size smaller than 5 μ m prepared by ball-milling. The sintered Mg₆₅Zn₃₀Ca₅ samples were in an amorphous state when the spark plasma sintering was performed at a temperature of 383 K under a pressure of 600 MPa. The data of polarization curves presented that the sintered Mg₆₅Zn₃₀Ca₅ bulk amorphous alloys exhibited higher corrosion resistance than pure Mg and AZ31B alloy owing to high content of Zn and homogeneous structure. A calcium phosphate compound layer was formed on the sintered Mg₆₅Zn₃₀Ca₅ bulk amorphous sample after immersion in Hanks' solution, which is effective in improving corrosion resistance and bioactivity. The sintered MgZnCa bulk amorphous alloys with large dimensions broaden the potential application of bulk amorphous alloys in the biomedical fields.