The possibility of forming a sacrificial anode coating for Mg

Mg is the most active engineering metal, and is often used as a sacrificial anode/coating to protect other engineering metals from corrosion attack. So far no sacrificial anode coating has been developed or considered for Mg. This study explores the possibility of forming a sacrificial coating for Mg. A lithiated carbon coating and a metaphosphated coating are applied on the Mg surface, respectively, and their open-circuit-potentials are measured in saturated Mg(OH)2 solution. They exhibit more negative potentials than bare Mg. SEM reveals that the metaphosphated coating offers more effective and uniform protection for Mg than the lithiated carbon coating. These preliminary results indicate that development of a sacrificial anode coating for Mg is indeed possible.