Preparation, Mechanical Properties, and Degradation Behavior of Zn-1Fe-xSr Alloys for Biomedical Applications

As biodegradable materials, zinc (Zn) and zinc-based alloys have attracted wide attention owing to their great potential in biomedical applications. However, the poor strength of pure Zn and binary Zn alloys limits their wide application. In this work, a stir casting method was used to prepare the Zn-1Fe-<i>x</i>Sr (<i>x</i> = 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 wt.%) ternary alloys, and the phase composition, microstructure, tensile properties, hardness, and degradation behavior were studied. The results indicated that the SrZn₁₃ phase was generated in the Zn matrix when the Sr element was added, and the grain size of Zn-1Fe-<i>x</i>Sr alloy decreased with the increase in Sr content. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and Brinell hardness increased with the increase in Sr content. The UTS and hardness of Zn-1Fe-2Sr alloy were 141.65 MPa and 87.69 HBW, which were 55.7% and 58.4% higher than those of Zn-1Fe alloy, respectively. As the Sr content increased, the corrosion current density of Zn-1Fe-<i>x</i>Sr alloy increased, and the charge transfer resistance decreased significantly. Zn-1Fe-2Sr alloy had a degradation rate of 0.157 mg·cm^-2·d^-1, which was 118.1% higher than the degradation rate of Zn-1Fe alloy. Moreover, the degradation rate of Zn-1Fe-<i>x</i>Sr alloy decreased significantly with the increase in immersion time.