Influence of chloride ion concentration on immersion corrosion behaviour of plasma sprayed alumina coatings on AZ31B magnesium alloy

Corrosion attack of aluminium and magnesium based alloys is a major issue worldwide. The corrosion degradation of an uncoated and atmospheric plasma sprayed alumina (APS) coatings on AZ31B magnesium alloy was investigated using immersion corrosion test in NaCl solutions of different chloride ion concentrations viz., 0.01 M, 0.2 M, 0.6 M and 1 M. The corroded surface was characterized by an optical microscope and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the corrosion deterioration of uncoated and coated samples were significantly influenced by chloride ion concentration. The uncoated magnesium and alumina coatings were found to offer a superior corrosion resistance in lower chloride ion concentration NaCl solutions (0.01 M and 0.2 M NaCl). On the other hand the coatings and Mg alloy substrate were found to be highly susceptible to localized damage, and could not provide an effective corrosion protection in solutions containing higher chloride concentrations (0.6 M and 1 M). It was found that the corrosion resistance of the ceramic coatings and base metal gets deteriorated with the increase in the chloride concentrations.