Enhanced corrosion performance of magnesium phosphate conversion coating on AZ31 magnesium alloy

Magnesium phosphate conversion coating (MPCC) was fabricated on AZ31 magnesium alloy for corrosion protection by immersion treatment in a simple MPCC solution containing Mg2+ and PO3−4 ions. The MPCC on AZ31 Mg alloy showed micro-cracks structure and a uniform thickness with the thickness of about 2.5 µm after 20 min of phosphating treatment. The composition analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the coating consisted of magnesium phosphate and magnesium hydroxide/oxide compounds. The MPCC showed a significant protective effect on AZ31 Mg alloy. The corrosion current of MPCC was reduced to about 3% of that of the uncoated surface and the time for the deterioration process during immersion in 0.5 mol/L NaCl solution improved from about 10 min to about 24 h.