Project Title: Hard X-ray spectroscopy characterization of biocorrosion of additively manufactured Mg alloy WE43
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | SWERIM AB - Materialutveckling |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 499 000 |
| Project duration | November 2020 - September 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Research infrastructure - utilisation and collaboration |
| Call | Industrial pilot projects for utilisation of large-scale infrastructures for neutron and photon based techniques – 2020 |
| End-of-project report | 2020-03794_OssDsign.pdf (pdf, 309 kB) |
Important results from the project
The aim of the project was to establish new routines for characterization of biological corrosion mechanisms for Mg alloys processed by Powder Bed Fusion - Laser Beam (L-PBF). The purpose for OssDsign was also to broaden the possible techniques used in the development of biodegradable implants in general, and biodegradable Mg alloys in particular. In the project we successfully studied surface evolution of Mg alloys in biological environments using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES), and thus proving HAXPES to be a useful technique in the study of biodegradable materials.
Expected long term effects
Within the scope of the project, we successfully used HAXPES to characterize the changes in surface composition over time of an additively manufactured Mg alloy. There was a clear buildup of oxides and phosphates during the initial stages, and a clear diminution of the metallic components in the spectra. The greatest changes took place within the first 20 minutes, highlighting the importance of the initial reactions in the overall degradation of Mg alloys. The results also showed the possibilities for OssDsign using HAXPES in developing new implant materials. OssDsign joined remotely
Approach and implementation
The measurements were carried out ex-situ at beamline P22 at Petra III (Hamburg, Germany). WE43 samples produced by AM and PE were prepared by grinding down to 2500 grit (fig 1), cleaned with ethanol and acetone, and immersed in Dulbecco’s Phosphate Buffered Saline solution (ref) for times ranging from 1 min to 24 hours. 8 samples of the AM and PM samples were then respectively probed with two different energies (2.5 eV and 7.5 eV).