Mechanism of corrosion protection of anodized magnesium alloys

Corrosion resistance of anodized surfaces on high-purity magnesium (99.95 mass%), rolled sheets of ASTM AZ31B (Mg-2.9Al-0.85Zn) magnesium alloy and die-cast plates of ASTM AZ91D (Mg-9.1Al-0.75Zn) magnesium alloy has been studied. Anodization was conducted by environment-friendly electrolysis whose electrolyte consists of phosphate and ammonium salt. The anodized surface was covered with amorphous film, and showed only discoloration during salt spray test where formation of corrosion product (magnesium hydroxide) was well suppressed within 605 ks. Even when the anodized surfaces were trenched with ceramic knife to form locally exposed substrate, corrosion was well suppressed by formation of new type of dense protective films for each substrate which consist of oxygen, magnesium, aluminum and phosphorus. Anodic polarization curves indicate that the anodized surfaces show sacrificial function due to the thermodynamically unstable state of phosphorus in the anodized layers and its resulting release of electrons. From the viewpoint of kinetics in corrosion on the anodzed surfaces, the curves show that the anodized layers dissolve quite slowly into the electrolyte compared with the case of the untreated substrates. The excellent corrosion protectivity obtained by the anodization is considered to be based on the formation of a dense protective film on the exposed area, as well as sacrificial function of the amorphous anodized layer.