DEVELOPMENT OF MAGNESIUM-BASED BULK METALLIC GLASSES FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

This thesis begins with an understanding of metallic glasses, and the conditions required for the formation of Mg-Zn-Ca metallic glasses through its glass forming ability (GFA). Following which, this thesis proposed a novel 2-step approach in the production of BMGs. The first step involves the generation of melt-spun metallic glass ribbons. Melt-spinning was the primary technique used in the production of metallic glass ribbons due to the effectiveness and high reproducibility in producing metallic glasses. Following which, the second stop involves the utilization of spark plasma sintering (SPS) as a consolidation mechanism, where the melt-spun ribbons are compacted and sintered to produce Mg-based BMGs. This proposed technique successfully created Mg-based BMG pellets with diameter and height of 10 mm. Through SPS, it was observed that porosity, structural integrity, and corrosion resistance were affected by varying sintering temperature and sintering time. By understanding the underlying mechanisms, the optimized parameters yielded a fully amorphous Mg-based BMG with significantly higher corrosion resistance and similar mechanical properties than its crystalline as-cast counterpart. Finally, the biocompatibility of SPS-ed BMG was studied and shown to be biocompatible and support bone growth. This suggests that the BMG is suitable to be explored as a biomaterial.