Effect of Mn Content on the Microstructure, Mechanical, and Corrosion Properties of Porous Mg–1Zn–1Ca Scaffolds

Abstract

Porous Mg alloys scaffolds are considered as an attractive strategy for bone repair due to their good biodegradability, biocompatibility, and suitable mechanical properties. In this study, porous Mg–1Zn–1Ca–xMn (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8) scaffolds with cubic pore structure are prepared, and the size of main pore and interconnected pores of the scaffolds are predicted to be 355–450 and 30–50 μm, respectively. Among the four scaffolds, Mg–1Zn–1Ca–0.8Mn scaffold possesses good mechanical properties, with a maximum yield strength of 27.1 and an elastic modulus of 0.66 GPa. However, Mg–1Zn–1Ca–0.5Mn scaffold exhibits the optimal corrosion resistance with a corrosion rate 1.02 mm year−1 after 5 days immersion in Hank's solution. This is mainly attributed to α‐Mn phase, which is uniformly distributed on the substrate and uniformly degraded.