The effect of PVD coatings on the corrosion behaviour of AZ91 magnesium alloy

In this study, multilayered AlN (AlN + AlN + AlN) and AlN + TiN were coated on AZ91 magnesium alloy using physical vapour deposition (PVD) technique of DC magnetron sputtering, and the influence of the coatings on the corrosion behaviour of the AZ91 alloy was examined. A PVD system for coating processes, a potentiostat for electrochemical corrosion tests, X-ray difractometer for compositional analysis of the coatings, and scanning electron microscopy for surface examinations were used. It was determined that PVD coatings deposited on AZ91 magnesium alloy increased the corrosion resistance of the alloy, and AlN + AlN + AlN coating increased the corrosion resistance much more than AlN + TiN coating. However, it was observed that, in the coating layers, small structural defects e.g., pores, pinholes, cracks that could arise from the coating process or substrate and get the ability of protection from corrosion worsened were present. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.