Surface Modification of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy by Anodization process

Magnesium alloys emerge as a new class of biomaterials in medical field especially in orthopedic applications as medical implant because of its excellent mechanical, biocompatible, bioactive and biodegradable properties. Biodegradable magnesium alloys attracted great attention of researchers to avoid implant removal surgery after healing process. The magnesium alloy samples were anodized in two different electrolyte solutions to further improve the biodegradability of the substrates. The processing time varies from 10 minutes to 40 minutes with constant voltage of 20V. coated samples were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface topography and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the deposition of thick and dense oxide layers of anodized film of magnesium oxide (MgO) and magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 in electrolyte 2. The results of electrochemical Impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are in a good agreement with the analyses of surface morphology. The anodic film formed by electrolyte 2 provides better biodegradability as compared to electrolyte 1.