Enhanced mechanical properties and microstructural stability of ultrafine-grained biodegradable Zn-Li-Mn-Mg-Cu alloys produced by rapid solidification and high-pressure torsion

Zinc alloys have emerged as promising candidates for biodegradable materials due to their remarkable biocompatibility and favorable mechanical characteristics. The incorporation of alloying elements plays an essential role in advancing the tensile strength of Zn alloys. Nevertheless, achieving uniform dispersion of these elements poses challenges due to chemical segregation during solidification. In this study, rapid solidification followed by high-pressure torsion was successfully employed to fabricate Zn-Li-Mn-Mg-Cu alloys characterized by ultrafine-grained microstructures with evenly distributed nanometric intermetallic phases. A comprehensive examination, including phase composition, microstructural evolution, tensile properties and deformation mechanisms, was conducted. The impact of varying annealing temperatures on microstructural stability was systematically examined. The combined implementation of rapid solidification and high-pressure torsion yielded alloys with an average grain size below 360 nm, thereby demonstrating exceptional mechanical properties including yield stress (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation to failure (Ef) equal to at least 325 +/- 6 MPa, 350 +/- 8 MPa and 40 +/- 11 %, respectively. Heat treatment notably augmented the mechanical properties, resulting in a YS = 440 +/- 11 MPa and UTS = 491 +/- 6 MPa, while preserving plasticity (Ef = 23 +/- 4 %) in the Zn0.33Li-0.27Mn-0.14Mg-0.1Cu alloy. Nanoindentation strain rate jump tests identified thermally activated mechanisms and grain boundary sliding as dominant deformation mechanisms.