Corrosion protection of AZ91D Mg alloy coating with micro-arc oxidation film evaluated by immersion and electrochemical tests

This paper describes the preliminary results of corrosion protection of AZ91D Mg alloy coated with a micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating. The corrosion behavior of coated substrates was evaluated by means of immersion and electrochemical tests in 5 wt.% NaCl solution. The immersions tests include weight loss measurement after full or partial immersion with the whole coat and full immersion with the damaged coat. The electrochemical tests include polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The results of immersion and electrochemical tests show that micro-arc oxidation (MAO) surface treatment can significantly improve the corrosion resistance of the AZ91D Mg alloy in 5% NaCl solution, and the corrosion protection effect of the MAO coating is not sensitive to pores or cracks in the coating. The charge transfer resistance R-ct, increases from about 1.669 Omega cm(2) for the uncoated alloy to about 1113 Omega cm(2) after being coated with MAO coat.