Effect of Heat Treatment of AZ91 Magnesium Alloy on the Electroless Ni-P Deposition

Abstract

Magnesium alloys are excellent choice for automobile, aerospace, and computer components owing to their light weight, unique physical and mechanical properties. However, poor corrosion resistance has restricted their applications in aggressive environments. The surface coating is one of the viable options to reduce the susceptibility of magnesium alloys to corrosion. The present study focuses on the effect of heat treatment of AZ91 magnesium alloy, for different durations at 400 °C, prior to electroless Ni-P deposition on corrosion resistance. The microstructure and elemental analysis of the heat-treated specimens are performed using SEM and EDS techniques respectively. It is observed that the duration of heat treatment has a significant effect on the surface morphology and microstructure of the alloy. The precipitates in the cast alloy (enriched with Mg and Al) fragmented and the transformed into a new Al and Zn rich phase, after 12 h heat treatment. The dissolution of precipitates, however, observed on heating further to 24 h and exhibited relatively a lesser corrosion current density. The dense electroless Ni-P deposition is formed on the alloy heat treated for 24 h. The corrosion behavior of the single Ni-P layer on the heat treated (for 12 h) and untreated alloy show a marked deterioration, as investigated by the anodic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Relatively a better corrosion performance is seen for the double-layer Ni-P deposition. The duplex layer coatings on the as cast and heat treated for 24 h at 400 °C substrates showed an improved corrosion resistance compared to that on the 12 h heat treated substrate.