Influence of incorporating Si3N4 particles into the oxide layer produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation on AM50 Mg alloy on coating morphology and corrosion properties

The influence of incorporating different sizes of Si3N4 particles on the microstructure and corrosion properties of a phosphate-based plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coating on AM50 magnesium alloy was investigated. The experiments for this study were performed in alkaline electrolytes containing 1 g/L KOH, 10 g/L Na3PO4 with and without three different sized of Si3N4 particles. The corrosion properties of PEO coatings were investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 0.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Microstructure observations by SEM showed that the surface morphology and composition of the PEO coating were affected greatly by particle addition. Si3N4 particles can still be found without decomposition in the final coating due to their high melting point.