Study on a Novel Biodegradable and Antibacterial Fe-Based Alloy Prepared by Microwave Sintering.

This research produced a porous Fe-8 wt.% Cu alloy by microwave sintering in order to achieve (i) an increased biodegradation rate, and (ii) an antibacterial function. The Fe-8Cu alloy had higher density, hardness and degradation rate (about 2 times higher) but smaller and fewer surface pores, compared to the pure Fe. The Fe-8Cu alloy had a strong antibacterial function (the antibacterial rates against E. coli were up to 99.9%) and good biocompatibility. This work provides a novel approach of alloy design and processing to develop novel antibacterial Fe-based alloys.

Comparison on Tensile Characteristics of Plain C-Mn Steel with Ultrafine Grained Ferrite/Cementite Microstructure and Coarse Grained Ferrite/Pearlite Microstructure.

This work investigated the tensile characteristics of plain C-Mn steel with an ultrafine grained ferrite/cementite (UGF/C) microstructure and coarse-grained ferrite/pearlite (CGF/P) microstructure. The tensile tests were performed at temperatures between 77 K and 323 K. The lower yield and the ultimate tensile strengths were significantly increased when the microstructure was changed from the CGF/P to the UGF/C microstructures, but the total elongation and the uniform elongation decreased. A microstructural change from the CGF/P microstructure to the UGF/C microstructure had an influence on the athermal component of the lower yield and the ultimate tensile strengths but not on the thermal component. The UGF/C microstructure with a higher carbon content provided a higher strength without losing ductility because cementite particles restrained necking.

Biodegradation, Antibacterial Performance, and Cytocompatibility of a Novel ZK30-Cu-Mn Biomedical Alloy Produced by Selective Laser Melting.

In the present study, an antibacterial biomedical magnesium (Mg) alloy with a low biodegradation rate was designed, and ZK30-0.2Cu-xMn (x = 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 wt%) was produced by selective laser melting, which is a widely applied laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technology. Alloying with Mn evidently influenced the grain size, hardness, and biodegradation behavior. On the other hand, increasing Mn content to 0.8 wt% resulted in a decrease of biodegradation rate which is attributed to the decreased grain size and relatively protective surface layer of manganese oxide. Higher Mn contents increased the biodegradation rate attributed to the presence of the Mn-rich particles. Taken together, ZK30-0.2Cu-0.8Mn exhibited the lowest biodegradation rate, strong antibacterial performance, and good cytocompatibility.