Atomic structure of the Mg66Zn30Ca4 metallic glass

DOI: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2021.120660

Authors: Karel Saksl (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice) , Ildikó Pethes (Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungary) , Pál Jóvári (Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungary) , Zuzana Molčanová (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences) , Juraj Durisin (Technical University of Kosice) , Beáta Ballóková (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences) , László Temleitner (Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungary) , Stefan Michalik (Diamond Light Source) , Michaela Sulikova (Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice) , Katarína Šuľová (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences) , Miloš Fejercak (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice) , Dagmara Varcholová (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Technical University of Košice) , Rastislav Motýľ (Institut of Materials Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Journal Of Non-Crystalline Solids , VOL 558

State: Published (Approved)
Published: April 2021

Abstract: Amorphous alloys consisting of elements present in the human body, such as magnesium, zinc and calcium, are currently extensively studied in order to utilize them as a material for biodegradable orthopaedic implants. amongst all Mg-Zn-Ca alloys investigated up to date, the Mg66Zn30Ca4 composition has the greatest potential for applications. Its critical casting thickness reaches a value of 5 mm, the compressive strength (716–854 MPa) is about 4 times the limit of human cortical bone while elastic modulus is (31 GPa) is only 3 times higher than that of human bone. During dissolution the alloy shows only marginal hydrogen evolution. Here we present a detailed, experiment-based structural investigation of Mg66Zn30Ca4. Structural and topological analysis of its atomic structure reveals a high number of predominantly icosahedral densely packed Zn-centred clusters. It is believed that the existence of these structural units is responsible for the suppression of internal diffusion and thus greatly improves glass formability.

Journal Keywords: Biodegradable alloys; Metallic glasses; Atomic structure; Reverse Monte Carlo; Delaunay analysis

Diamond Keywords: Alloys; Biodegradation

Subject Areas: Materials, Physics

Facility: Beamline P07 at PETRA III

Added On: 08/02/2021 15:20

Discipline Tags:

Materials Science Metallurgy

Technical Tags: