Corrosion behavior of pristine and added MgB2 in Phosphate Buffered Saline Solution

Abstract

We have obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), dense samples of MgB 2 added with Ho2O3. Starting composition was (MgB2)0.975 (HoO1.5)0.025 and we used addition powders with an average particle size below and above 100 nm. For Mg, pristine and added MgB2 samples we measured potentiodynamic polarization curves in Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution media at room temperature. MgB2 based composites show corrosion/ degradation effects. This behavior is in principle similar to Mg based alloys in the same media. Our work suggests that the different morphologies and phase compositions of the SPS-ed samples influence the interaction with corrosion medium; hence additions can play an important role in controlling the corrosion rate. Pristine MgB2 show a significant improvement of the corrosion resistance, if compared with Mg. The best corrosion resistance is obtained for pristine MgB2, followed by MgB2 with nano-Ho2O 3 and μ-Ho2O3 additions. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.