Preferred crystallographic pitting corrosion of pure magnesium in Hanks’ solution

• DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2012.06.011
• Publication Date: 2012-06-21T17:53:38Z
• Authors: Gilsoo Han; Ji-Young Lee; Yu-Chan Kim; Ji Hee Park; Dong-Ik Kim; Hyung-Seop Han; Seok-Jo Yang; Hyun-Kwang Seok
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

Abstract We examined the corrosion behavior of Mg in Hanks’ solution to determine the potential of a biodegradable pure Mg implant. Abrupt corrosion, initiated by Fe impurity, was observed in the latter stage of experimentation in the form of preferred crystallographic pitting (PCP) propagating along the (0 0 0 1) basal plane in the grain. Herein, we report the mechanism behind PCP corrosion of Mg and evaluate potential solutions to suppress PCP corrosion. In particular, the addition of Mn inhibits PCP initiation by converting Fe impurities to Fe-Mn compounds, while refining the grain size by extrusion reduces PCP propagation.