Influence of concentrations of KOH and Na2SiO3 electrolytes on the electrochemical behavior of ceramic coatings on 6061 Al alloy processed by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Abstract

In this study, ceramic coatings were deposited on 6061 Al alloy using a plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) technique, and the effect of concentrations of KOH and Na2SiO3 as electrolytes for PEO process was studied on microstructure, chemical composition, and electrochemical behavior of PEO coatings formed on the 6061 Al alloy. The results indicated that the increase in concentration of KOH led to rise in electrical conductivity of electrolyte. Consequently, the breakdown voltage reduced, which in turn improved the surface quality and the corrosion behavior. Moreover, the increase in concentration of Na2SiO3 resulted in the increase in incorporation of Si in the coating, which led to a higher corrosion potential in the concentration of 4 g L-1. According to this investigation, the best protection behavior of coatings can be obtained when the KOH and Na2SiO3 concentrations in PEO electrolyte are equal to 4 g L-1.