Effect of surface pretreatment by acid pickling on the density of stannate conversion coatings formed on AZ91 D magnesium alloy

Hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acid solutions and a mixture of them were tested as pickling solutions for AZ91 D Mg alloy before application of stannate coatings. Optical microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) of the alloy surface after the pickling process showed that the Mg-rich α phase dissolved preferentially rather than the Al-rich β phase in hydrochloric acid solution. On the other hand, in hydrofluoric acid solution, Mg dissolved in a form of pitting corrosion. Pickling pretreatment with a mixture of these acids at an optimal concentration and an optimal pickling time resulted in relatively uniform dissolution of the alloy surface. The potentiodynamic polarization technique was used to investigate the anodic behavior of the uncoated and coated magnesium alloy in borate buffer solution. The morphology of the coatings was observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after corrosion tests. The experimental results showed that coating film density and corrosion resistance of stannate-coated samples prepared with pickling pretreatment were improved compared with those of the coated sample without pickling pretreatment.