The effects of Zn segregation and microstructure length scale on the corrosion behavior of a directionally solidified Mg-25 wt.%Zn alloy

Biodegradable implants can be used in order to avoid removal surgery. Mg-Zn alloys are considered interesting alternatives for biomedical applications, however, studies concerning the effects of microstructural features in the as-solidified condition and segregation aspects on the resulting electrochemical behavior are scarce. This investigation is focused on the evaluation of the electrochemical corrosion of an as-solidified Mg-25 wt.% Zn alloy in a 0.15 M NaCl solution at 25 °C. EIS plots, potentiodynamic polarization curves and equivalent circuits are used. It is shown that Zn segregation affects both the galvanic couple and the cathode-to-anode area ratio. It was found that finer and homogeneously distributed Mg-rich six-fold branched equiaxed dendritic grains induce lower corrosion current density and higher polarization resistance when compared with equivalent results of coarser ones.