Promising methods for corrosion protection of magnesium alloys in the case of mg-al, mg-mn-ce and mg-zn-zr: A recent progress review

Abstract

High specific strength characteristics make magnesium alloys widely demanded in many industrial applications such as aviation, astronautics, military, automotive, bio-medicine, energy, etc. However, the high chemical reactivity of magnesium alloys significantly limits their applicabil-ity in aggressive environments. Therefore, the development of effective technology for corrosion protection is an urgent task to ensure the use of magnesium-containing structures in various fields of application. The present paper is aimed to provide a short review of recent achievements in corrosion protection of magnesium alloys, both surface treatments and coatings, with particular focus on Mg-Al-Mn-Ce, Mg-Al-Zn-Mn and Mg-Zn-Zr alloys, because of their wide application in the transport industry. Recent progress was made during the last decade in the development of protective coatings (metals, ceramics, organic/polymer, both single layers and multilayer systems) fabri-cated by different deposition techniques such as anodization, physical vapour deposition, laser pro-cesses and plasma electrolytic oxidation.