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The electrochemical deposition of magnesium was investigated in ethereal Grignard salt solution with tetraethylammonium bistrifluoro-methanesulfonimidate additive, using cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic transients, and scanning electron microscope measurements. The voltammograms showed the presence of reduction and oxidation peaks associated with the deposition and dissolution of magnesium. From the analysis of the experimental current transients, it was shown that the magnesium deposition process was characterized as a three-dimensional nucleation. The deposited product obtained from potentiostatic reduction presented a generally uniform and dense film.

An inverse template method that relies on the use of a controlled porous spacer material was implemented to produce periodic magnesium (Mg) foams. Bulk infiltration pressures were varied to determine a processing-property map. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the resulting periodic Mg foams were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and compression testing, respectively. SEM was also used to analyze the surface topology of the periodic foams and compare it to the original template material. It was found that the casting pressure has a great effect not only on the success of the infiltration but also the surface roughness and other microstructural features of the foam.

In this study, three types of functionally graded Al₁₈B₄O₃₃/Mg composites which consisted of 2, 3 and 4 layers and where volume fractions of Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ were gradually changing from 0 to 35% were fabricated using squeeze infiltration technique. The mechanical parameters of each layer were measured for the analysis of residual stress. Elastic finite element numerical models were applied to the analysis of thermal residual stress. The analytic results showed that the residual stresses were significantly decreased in the macrointerface with increasing the number of layer.

Magnesium is light, biocompatible and has similar mechanical properties to natural bone, so it has the potential to be used as a biodegradable material for orthopedic applications. However, pure magnesium severely corrodes in a physiological environment, which may hinder its use for in vivo applications. Protective coatings are effective method to delay the corrosion of Mg. In this study, sol-gel and hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings were applied onto the surface of pure magnesium substrates using a biomimetic technique. The corrosion rate of surface-treated substrates was tested. It was found that both types of coatings substantially slowed down the corrosion of the substrate, the 60Ca so-gel and HA coating was more effectively than the 100Si so-gel and HA coating in hindering the degradation of the substrate. Thus, the corrosion rate of magnesium implants can be closely tailored by coating sol-gel then coating apatite thereby monitoring the release of magnesium ions into the body.

Magnesium (Mg) crystal structures are extensively explored using an evolutionary algorithm implemented in the USPEX code. Two structures with simple trigonal and tetragonal symmetries are discovered to possibly exist under high pressure. The stability of these symmetries is determined by elastic constants and phonon spectrum calculations. First-principle calculations are performed to investigate the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of different Mg structures under high pressure (up to 300 GPa). Above 190 GPa, the trigonal structure is more stable than the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure. Particularly, the trigonal structure can be considered a compromise between face-centered cubic (FCC) and HCP blocks. Interestingly, the tetragonal structure density is only 95% HCP structure. In addition, the tetragonal structure has strong directional bonding but is less stable than the HCP structure (up to 600 GPa). Pressure significantly changes the electronic properties of both structures although they remain metallic up to 300 GPa.

In this paper, hierarchical surface structures were developed to achieve the superhydrophobicity on AZ31 magnesium alloys. The uniform nodular microstructure was constructed by laser processing, and the subsequent cobalt electrodeposition fabricated a nanostructured needle-like morphology onto the surface nodules. The superhydrophobic surfaces prepared under varied electrodeposition current densities were characterized. When applying 7 mA/cm² current density, the sample revealed the best superhydrophobic performance. The chemical stability of superhydrophobic samples was tested, which confirmed excellent superhydrophobicity was hardly affected by the corrosion environment. The results showed the samples still possessed the hydrophobic ability after tests. The developed fabrication method combines the advantages of laser processing and electrodeposition, which serves as a fast and cost-effective pathway to manufacture superhydrophobic surfaces.