Biodegradable iron-based foams prepared by the space holder technique using urea

Abstract

Iron-based degradable biomaterials have attracted much attention as next-generation bone implants due to their excellent mechanical properties and good biocompatibility. Many studies are now focusing on the preparation and detailed study of porous versus non-porous degradable materials. Porous degradable biomaterials have many advantages over the non-porous ones owing to their structure, which allows easier bone tissue ingrowth. The aim of this work was to prepare Fe-based biodegradable porous materials in a cost-effective way via powder metallurgy technique using urea space holders. Five different samples with increasing space holder weight ratio (up to 20 wt%) were prepared. Surface morphology and sample structure were studied using the optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Electrochemical corrosion rate analysis confirmed that the samples corroded faster with increasing number of pores. With an increasing amount of urea, the number of pores increased proportionally, which can potentially be used to tune the corrosion rate. However, mechanical integrity of the samples was not maintained when more than 10 wt% of space holder was used.