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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Selective Laser Melted Rare Earth Magnesium Alloy

with High Corrosion Resistance

Youwen Yang , Chenrong Ling , Mingli Yang , Liuyimei Yang , Dongsheng Wang , Shuping
1,2
2
3
1
1
Peng 4,5,6 *, Cijun Shuai *
1,7
1 Institute of Additive Manufacturing, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
2 Key Laboratory of Construction Hydraulic Robots of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Tongling University, Tongling
244061, China
3 Ganjiang Innovation Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ganzhou 341119, China
4 The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South
University, Changsha, Hunan 410078, China
5 NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha 410013,
China
6 School of energy and machinery engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
7 State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

Abstract: Magnesium (Mg) degrades too fast in human body, which limits its orthopedic application. Single-phase Mg-
based supersaturated solid solution is expected to possess high corrosion resistance. In this work, rare earth scandium (Sc)
was used as alloying element to prepare Mg(Sc) solid solution powder by mechanical alloying (MA) and then shaped into
implant using selective laser melting (SLM). MA utilizes powerful mechanical force to introduce numerous lattice defects,
which promotes the dissolution of Sc in Mg matrix and forms supersaturated solid solution particles. Subsequently, SLM
with fast heating and cooling rate maintains the original supersaturated solid solution structure. Immersion tests revealed that
high Sc content significantly enhanced the corrosion resistance of Mg matrix because of the formation of protective corrosion
product film, which was also proved by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Thereby, Mg(Sc) alloy
showed a relatively low degradation rate of 0.61 mm/year. In addition, cell tests showed that the Mg(Sc) exhibited favorable
biocompatibility and was suitable for medical application.
Keywords: Mg alloy; Rare earth; SLM; Degradation behavior; Biocompatibility

*Correspondence to: Shuping Peng, The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central
South University, Changsha, China; shuping@csu.edu.cn; Cijun Shuai, Institute of Additive Manufacturing, Jiangxi University of Science and
Technology, Nanchang, China; shuai@csu.edu.cn; shuai@jxust.edu.cn
Received: March 14, 2022; Accepted: April 16, 2022; Published Online: May 31, 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: 3D Printing in Tissue Engineering)

Citation: Yang Y, Ling C, Yang M, et al., 2022, Selective Laser Melted Rare Earth Magnesium Alloy with High Corrosion Resistance. Int J
Bioprint, 8(3):574. http://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v8i3.574

1. Introduction of various enzymes and can accelerate bone healing [5-7] .
Compared with other medical metals (such as stainless
Magnesium (Mg) is currently recognized as potential steel and titanium alloy), Mg has a relatively close
bone repair material [1,2] . As a degradable metal, it can be Young’s modulus (~45 GPa) to human bone (3–20 GPa),
gradually degraded in the body until fully absorbed, which which can effectively reduce the stress shielding effect [8,9] .
reflects its clinical potentials as a temporary substitute [3,4] . Nevertheless, one concern deserves our attention is that
At the same time, Mg ions participate in the synthesis Mg degrades too quickly in human body .
[10]

© 2022 Author(s). This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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