Crevice corrosion behavior of a biodegradable Zn–Mn–Mg alloy in simulated body fluid

Abstract

Crevice corrosion at the implantation sites cannot be neglected in clinical applications of biodegradable zinc alloys as implants. In this study, a crevice corrosion protocol was designed to investigate the crevice corrosion behavior of the Zn–0.45Mn–0.2Mg (ZMM42) alloy for the first time, by varying crevice thicknesses in simulated body fluid (SBF) through immersion and electrochemical analysis. The results indicated that the ZMM42 alloy was susceptible to crevice corrosion in the range from 0.03 mm to 0.2 mm. When the crevice thickness was 0.05 mm, the crevice corrosion of the specimen became more severe compared to other thicknesses.