Manufacturing Technology 2025, 25(5):662-669 | DOI: 10.21062/mft.2025.070

Mechanical Alloying, an Innovative Way of Zinc Preparation for Biomaterial Preparation

David Nečas ORCID..., Jan Blažek ORCID..., Jan Pokorný ORCID..., Anna Boukalová ORCID..., Jiří Kubásek ORCID...
Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. Technická 5, 160 00 Prague. Czech Republic

In this study, binary zinc-based alloys (Zn–1Mg, Zn–1Li, Zn–2Mn, wt.%) were synthesized by performing mechanical alloying (MA) of elemental powders, followed by consolidation using spark plasma sintering (SPS). The processing parameters were optimized to obtain homogeneous powders with controlled particle size. X-ray diffraction and SEM analyses confirmed the presence of secondary intermetallic phases (Mg2Zn11, Zn13Mn, ZnLi2 phases) formed during milling, which were preserved after SPS. Microstructural examination revealed a fine-grained microstructure with residual oxide networks originating from powder surfaces. Mechanical testing demonstrated significant strengthening effects after Mg and Li additions, with Zn–1Mg alloy reaching the highest hardness (128 HV1) and compressive strength (526.7 MPa), attributed to uniformly distributed Mg2Zn11 precipitates. However, this strengthening was accompanied by reduced ductility. Zn–1Li exhibited the most balanced combination of strength and plasticity, while Zn–2Mn provided only a limited improvement over pure zinc. These results confirm that mechanical alloying combined with SPS is a promising route for developing biodegradable Zn-based biomaterials with enhanced properties.

Keywords: Biodegradable Metals, Zinc Alloys, Powder Metallurgy, Microstructure, Compressive Test
Grants and funding:

This research was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project no. 25-16144S), Specific University research (project no. A1_FCHT_2025_011), and by the project "Mechanical Engineering of Biological and Bio-inspired Systems", funded as project No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004634 by Programme Johannes Amos Commenius

Received: August 8, 2025; Revised: November 19, 2025; Accepted: November 19, 2025; Prepublished online: December 4, 2025; Published: December 8, 2025  Show citation

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Nečas D, Blažek J, Pokorný J, Boukalová A, Kubásek J. Mechanical Alloying, an Innovative Way of Zinc Preparation for Biomaterial Preparation. Manufacturing Technology. 2025;25(5):662-669. doi: 10.21062/mft.2025.070.
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