*Article* **Biodegradable Implantation Material: Mechanical Properties and Surface Corrosion Mechanism of Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr Alloy**

#### **Yen-Ting Chen, Fei-Yi Hung \* and Jie-Cheng Syu**

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan **\*** Correspondence: fyhung@mail.ncku.edu.tw; Tel.: +886-6-2757-5756-2950; Fax: +886-6234-6290

Received: 19 June 2019; Accepted: 2 August 2019; Published: 6 August 2019

**Abstract:** Mg alloy is suitable for biomedical implants as the mechanical properties of Mg are close to those of human bone. Ca is a major element in bone and Zr has a grea<sup>t</sup> grain refinement effect. Hence, we developed Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr alloy (XK105) as a biodegradable biomaterial and investigated its mechanical properties and surface corrosion mechanism. The results showed that heat treatment made the secondary phase homogeneous. Tensile tests showed that the heat treatment increased ductility, and that the tensile stress results in the extrusion direction showed better ductility than that in the transverse direction because of the fiber texture and extrusion characteristics. Electrochemistry test results showed that XK105 after heat treatment had a lower corrosion rate than that before heat treatment and that of pure Mg. XK105 after heat treatment formed a calcium phosphate layer after immersion in simulated body fluid; this layer protects Mg from corrosion. Surface roughening treatment increased corrosion because pits on the surface promoted pitting corrosion. This study developed Mg-1Ca-0.5Zr alloy as a biomedical implant material. The results can be used as a reference for the biomedical material industry.

**Keywords:** Mg-Ca-Zr; mechanical properties; erosion; corrosion
