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Improved corrosion resistance of Mg alloy by a green phosphating: insights into pre-activation, temperature, and growth mechanism

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

Poor corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys remains a major obstacle to their extensive application. Phosphate conversion coating (PCC) is one of the most direct and effective strategies to enhance the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys. To overcome the environmental damage of traditional phosphating technology, a PCC free of fluorine, chromium and nitrite was prepared in the present work. The effects of surface pre-activation process and preparation temperature on the surface morphology and corrosion resistance of PCC on ZK60 magnesium alloy were investigated. Surface pre-activation could significantly reduce the ultimate grain size of phosphate. At 90 °C, the prepared PCC showed perfect morphology and corrosion resistance. To better understand the phosphating nucleation and growth process, the surface and cross-sectional morphologies of PCC prepared for different times were observed. The phase composition of the prepared PCC was detected to be Hureaulite (Mn5(PO4)2(PO3OH)2·4H2O) and the coating growth mechanism was suggested in the end.

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Acknowledgements

This project was financially supported by National Key Research and Development Plan of China (Nos. 2017YFB0103904, 2016YFB0301105), Shandong Province Key Research and Development Plan (No. 2017CXGC0404), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Nos. ZR2017LEM002), Youth Science Funds of Shandong Academy of Sciences (No. 2018QN0034), and Ji Nan Science & Technology Bureau (No. 2019GXRC030).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of High Strength Lightweight Metallic Materials, Advanced Materials Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250014, China

    Tao Li, Shifang Wang, Hongtao Liu, Jianhua Wu, Shouqiu Tang, Yuansheng Yang, Xitao Wang & Jixue Zhou

  2. Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Tao Li & Yuansheng Yang

  3. Shandong Engineering Research Centre of Lightweight Automobiles Magnesium Alloys, Advanced Materials Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250014, China

    Shifang Wang & Jixue Zhou

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  1. Tao Li
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  2. Shifang Wang
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Li, T., Wang, S., Liu, H. et al. Improved corrosion resistance of Mg alloy by a green phosphating: insights into pre-activation, temperature, and growth mechanism. J Mater Sci 56, 828–843 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05288-w

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