Mechanical Properties of FeCr-Based Composite Materials Elaborated by Liquid Metal Dealloying towards Bioapplication

Liquid metal dealloying (LMD) is a new technology to create porous materials. From a (FeCr)(x)-Ni(1-x)precursor, it is possible to get a bicontinuous structure of FeCr and Mg: a metal-metal composite. An etching step removes the Mg solid-state solution phase to give a metal-air composite. The last step, polymer infiltration, gives metal-polymer composites. Herein, metal-metal, metal-air, and metal-polymer (rubbery or glassy polymers) with three different phase ratios are elaborated by LMD from Ni-based precursors and their mechanical properties are analyzed. A full polymer infiltration into the pores is obtained and the epoxy polymer properties are not affected by the metallic foam presence. Concerning control of the mechanical properties, the material's second-phase selection is a key factor. Herein, it is shown that the mechanical properties are easily designed by optimizing phase ratio, ligament size, and second-phase type and that these materials are promising materials for biomedical applications.