Influence of surface chemistry on the formation of crystalline hydroxide coatings on Mg alloys in liquid water and steam systems

An environmentally-friendly 'steam-coating' treatment was employed to prepare protective coatings on magnesium (Mg) and its alloys against corrosion. This involved a hydrothermal surface treatment performed in water vapour using a closed stainless steel autoclave at 150 °C for 3 h. The correlation between coating functionality and alloy chemistry, including the concentration of alloying elements of aluminium, zinc and rare earth, was studied. It was determined that Al played a significant role in the formation of a protective Mg(OH)2 coating, whilst Zn and RE elements were not a key contributor to protective development.