Corrosion behaviour in salt spray and in 3.5% NaCl solution saturated with Mg(OH)2 of as-cast and solution heat-treated binary Mg–X alloys: X = Mn, Sn, Ca, Zn, Al, Zr, Si, Sr

•Each Mg–X alloy corroded faster than high-purity Mg.•Alloys with high corrosion rates in immersion tests also had high salt spray corrosion rates.•There was a clear correlation with type of alloying rather than quantity of alloying.

Corrosion of binary Mg–X alloys (as-cast and solution heat-treated) was characterised by immersion tests in 3.5% NaCl solution saturated with Mg(OH)2, and by salt spray. Alloys with high corrosion rates in immersion tests also had high corrosion rates in salt spray. Corrosion rates of the solution heat-treated alloys did not meet the expectation that they should be equal to or lower than those of high-purity Mg. There was circumstantial evidence that the higher corrosion rates were caused by the particles in the microstructure; the second phases had been dissolved. The corrosion rate of all alloys was faster than that of high-purity Mg.