Investigation on the Controlled Degradation and Invitro Mineralization of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced AZ31 Nanocomposite in Simulated Body Fluid

Magnesium (Mg) based implant materials are believed to be the perfect candidates for biomedical applications due to their versatile properties. However, regulating their corrosion/degradation rate in the biological surroundings is still a noteworthy task. Suitable strategies to overcome this task is to wisely select alloy elements with improved corrosion resistance and mechanical characteristics. An attempt has been made to enhance the corrosion and biocompatibility performance of magnesium alloy AZ31 containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforcement and evaluate its degradation and invitro mineralization performance in physiological medium. Corrosion behavior of AZ31 alloy with CNTs reinforcement was investigated using electrochemical methods, weight loss, and hydrogen evolution in SBF during short and long-term periods. The obtained results revealed that the corrosion resistance of AZ31 alloy enhanced significantly due to the incorporation of CNTs. Hydrogen evolution test and weight loss tests revealed that the presence of CNTs improves the stability of the Mg(OH)₂ and efficiently regulate the degradation behavior in SBF. Surface characterization after immersion in SBF revealed the rapid formation of bone-like apatite layer on the surface, validated a good bioactivity of the AZ31 nanocomposite samples.