Rapid degradation of biomedical magnesium induced by zinc ion implantation

The degradation rate is important to biodegradable magnesium materials. In this study, Zn is implanted using a cathodic arc source into pure magnesium at an accelerating voltage of 35 kV. The nominal ion implant fluence is 2.5 × 10¹⁷ ions cm⁻². After Zn implantation, the degradation rate in simulated body fluids is increased significantly. It is postulated that because Zn exists in the metallic state in the implanted layer, the galvanic effect between the Zn rich surface region and magnesium matrix induces the observed accelerated degradation.