Fatigue and corrosion of a Pd-based bulk metallic glass in various environments.

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) possess attractive properties for biomedical applications, including high strength, hardness and corrosion resistance, and low elastic modulus. In this study, we conduct rotating beam fatigue tests on Pd43Ni10Cu27P20 bulk metallic glass in air and Eagle's medium (EM) and measure the corrosive resistance of the alloy by submersion in acidic and basic electrolytes. Fatigue results are compared to those of commonly used biometals in EM. Rotating beam fatigue tests conducted in air and in Eagle's medium show no deterioration in fatigue properties in this potentially corrosive environment out to 10(7) cycles. A specimen size effect is revealed when comparing fatigue results to those of a similar alloy of larger minimum dimensions. Corrosion tests show that the alloy is not affected by highly basic (NaOH) or saline (NaCl) solutions, nor in EM, and is affected by chlorinated acidic solutions (HCl) to a lesser extent than other commonly used biometals. Corrosion in HCl initiates with selective leaching of late transition metals, followed by dissolution of Pd.