The biocompatibility of commercially pure zirconium and its alloys is closely related to their surface properties with both the composition of the protecting oxide film and the surface topography playing an important role. This article is a study of corrosion behavior of new zirconium alloys for orthopedic implants, which are supposed to be used instead of some implant materials that have a higher citotoxicity. For this reason, zirconium and its alloys will be employed widely in biomedical applications. The higher stability and corrosion resistance exhibited by zirconium are due to the spontaneous formation of a passive zirconium oxide film, which protects the metal from further oxidation. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are used as electrochemical techniques. Measurements were carried out to investigate the corrosion behavior of zirconium and Zr2.5Nb, Zr3Ta, and Zr2.5Nb3Ta alloys in aerated Hank solution at 37 ± 0.2 • C. The results of EIS were compared with those obtained by potentiodynamic polarization techniques. Impedance spectra were represented both in complex impedance diagram (Nyquist plot) and Bode plots. The EIS measurements have confirmed this stability range and pointed out the formation of oxide layers on the electrode surfaces.

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Among novel magnetic intermetallics based on rare earth-transition compounds, the Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe isotropic nanocomposites have been obtained by recrystallization from an amorphous phase, prepared by melt spinning. For variable 5 wt.% Fe and 10 wt.% Fe contents we recorded transmission 57Fe Mössbauer spectra at the room temperature, hardened of the α-Fe phase by exchange interactions. The spectra have been analyzed in terms of ten Zeeman sextets and one paramagnetic doublet related to the Nd1.1Fe4B4 phase. One sextet corresponds to the α-Fe phase, whereas others are attributed to six non-equivalent Fe sites in the Nd2Fe14B structure, namely 16k1, 16k2, 8j1, 8j2, 4c, and 4e. The three remaining sextets belong to the Fe3B structure with three inequivalent Fe sites FeI(8g), FeII(8g) and FeIII(8g). All relevant parameters for both nanocomposites: the magnetic hyperfine field, the isomer shift and the quadrupole splitting are determined for each of these sites.

High magnetization Fe3O4/OA-FeCo/Al2O3 nanocomposite magnetic clusters have been obtained by a modified oil-in-water miniemulsion method. These nanocomposite clusters dispersed in a ferrofluid carrier results in a magnetorheological fluid with improved...