Recent progress in corrosion protection of magnesium alloys by organic coatings

The excellent properties of magnesium alloys, especially the high strength/weight ratio, make them desirable materials in the automotive industry. However, their high corrosion susceptibility has greatly limited or even prevented their larger scale use for various applications. Organic coating is one of the most effective ways to prevent magnesium alloys from corrosion. In this report, the recent progress of organic coatings on magnesium alloys and techniques for evaluating the performance of organic coatings are reviewed.As a critical layer in a normal coating system, organic coating has great potential to prevent magnesium alloys from corrosion attack. However, some unsolved problems currently limit the application of organic coatings. Firstly, organic coatings usually have poor adhesion if they are applied without an appropriate pre-treatment. Sol–gel coating or plasma polymerization requires the least pre-treatment prior to deposition. However, the corrosion and wear resistance of these coatings have not been documented. Secondly, it is difficult to prepare a uniform, pore-free organic layer. So, it is usually necessary to apply multiple layers of these coatings to provide sufficient/optimum corrosion and wear resistance. Finally, a number of organic coating techniques are still solvent based, which poses an environmental concern. New water-borne and powder coating technologies should be developed.In order to evaluate the performance of organic coatings on magnesium, both electrochemical and non-electrochemical techniques have been developed. Information from different techniques gives insight into the organic coating/magnesium alloy interface in different aspects. Comprehensive knowledge about the interface is indispensible for understanding the degradation of the organic coating and developing new coating strategies.

► Organic coatings have great potential to prevent Mg alloys from corrosion attack.
► Organic coatings have poor adhesion if applied without appropriate pre-treatment.
► New water-borne and powder coating technologies are highly demanded.
► Electrochemical + non-electrochemical techniques provide insight into coatings.