Microstructure, in vitro corrosion and cytotoxicity of Ca-P coatings on ZK60 magnesium alloy prepared by simple chemical conversion and heat treatment

Magnesium alloys are potential biodegradable materials for biomedical application. But their poor corrosion resistance may result in premature failure of implants. In this study, to solve this problem, Ca-P coatings were prepared on ZK60 magnesium alloy by a simple chemical conversion process and heat treatment. Surface characterization showed that a flake-like Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) (CaHPO ₄ ·2H ₂ O) coating was formed on ZK60 alloy by the chemical conversion process. DCPD transformed into Dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPa) (CaHPO ₄ ) and Ca ₂ P ₂ O ₇ after heat treatment. Results of potentiodynamic polarization showed the corrosion potential of ZK60 was increased from −1666 mV to −1566 mV with DCPD coating, while −1515 mV was obtained after heat treatment. The corrosion current density of ZK60 was measured to be reduced from 35 µA/cm ² to 3.5 µA/cm ² with DCPD coating, while a further reduction to 1 µA/cm ² was observed after heat treatment. This indicated that the coatings improved the substrate corrosion resistance significantly, and apparently, the heat-treated coating had a higher corrosion resistance. Immersion test demonstrated that both the coatings could provide protection for the substrate and the heat-treated coating could induce deposition of bone-like apatite. Cytotoxicity evaluation revealed that none of the samples induced toxicity to L-929 cells after 1- and 3-day culture. The cytocompatibility of ZK60 was improved by the coatings, with the following sequence: uncoated ZK60 < DCPD-coated ZK60 < heat-treated coating.