High Performance Lightweight Magnesium Nanocomposites for Engineering and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Magnesium is the lightest structural metal that can be used for engineering applications and its non-toxic nature makes it attractive for use as a biomedical implant. The judicious addition of nanoparticles to magnesium assists in enhancing multiple engineering properties that are critical for its widespread use and are superior to that exhibited by conventional micron-size particles containing composites. The ability to improve mechanical properties with the use of smaller volume fraction of reinforcements while keeping density low makes magnesium nanocomposites an attractive choice for lightweight engineering and bio-resorbable biomedical applications. In view of the exceptional response of magnesium in presence of nano-length scale reinforcements, an attempt is made in this paper to provide a brief review of characteristics of several magnesium nanocomposites illustrating the effects of ceramic and metallic reinforcements to enhance mechanical properties.