The Characteristic of ceramic coatings prepared on magnesium alloy AZ91D by micro-arc oxidization in silicate electrolyte

A novel process of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) on AZ91D magnesium alloy is investigated in a Na2SiO3-NaOH-montmorillonite-EDTA-acacia gum electrolyte solution. The morphologies, elements distribution, phase components of the coatings are characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD. And CHI600 electrochemistry corrosion workstation is employed to investigate the property of corrosion resistance of the coatings. Furthermore, the anti-corrosion behavior is analyzed immersed in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution. The results reveal that the ceramic coatings have the relatively dense and uniform in thickness and the silicon element tends to present primarily in the outer region of the coatings. The XRD results indicate that the oxide films are mainly composed of Mg2SiO4 and MgAl2O4 phases. The immersion results show that the corrosion resistances of the ceramic coatings on AZ91D magnesium surface are better than the magnesium substrate.