Changing PEO coating formation on Mg alloys by particle additions to the treatment electrolyte

Plasma electrolytic oxidation of magnesium alloys is a well known technique to produce corrosion and wear resistant coatings. The addition of particles to the electrolyte provides a possibility to produce coatings with an increasing range of composition by in-situ incorporation of those particles into the coating. An extensive literature review has revealed that the mode of incorporation depends mainly on the melting point of the used particles and the energy provided by the discharges of the PEO process. The spectrum ranges from inert to partly reactive incorporation, but a complete reactive incorporation and a formation of a new single phase coating was not observed so far. Thus a new approach in PEO processing is introduced using specific particles as a kind of sintering additive, changing not only the composition but lowering the melting temperature and increase the liquid phase fraction during the discharges, resulting in a new amorphous coating.