Electrochemical performance of microarc oxidation films formed on AZ91D magnesium alloy in silicate and phosphate electrolytes

This paper reports on studies of the phase composition and electrochemical performances of microarc oxidation (MAO) films formed on AZ91D alloy using step-down current method in phosphate electrolytes (P-film) and silicate electrolytes (Si-film). The results showed that the P-film was mainly composed of Mg, MgAl2O4, MgO and the Si-film was composed of Mg2SiO4, MgO. There clearly existed a fluoride-enriched zone of about 1∼2 μm for P-film and 0.7∼1 μm for Si-film at the MAO coating/substrate interface. The electrochemical tests showed that both P-film and Si-film could enhance the corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloy significantly; the corrosion failure processes of the two films in 5 wt.% NaCl solution were quite different.