Effect of crystal orientation on corrosion behavior of directionally solidified Mg-4 wt% Zn alloy

Microstructure and crystallographic orientation of directionally solidified Mg-4 wt% Zn alloy were characterized by X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in this study. Results reveal that Mg-4 wt% Zn alloy with dendritic microstructure exhibits typical {0002} basal texture along growth direction. Based on this, the effect of grain orientation on corrosion behavior of directionally solidified Mg-4 wt% Zn alloy in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution was investigated. Result shows that {0002} oriented planes have better corrosion resistance than {112¯0} and {101¯0} ones, which is attributed to a synergistic effect of surface energy, atomic packing density and the stability of oxidation film.