Effect of OH- Concentration on the Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Microarc Oxidatoin Coating Produced on Al7075 Alloy

In this work, ceramic coatings were prepared on Al7075 aluminum alloy using microarc oxidation (MAO) process in a silicate-fluoride based electrolyte solution. The effect of $OH^-$ concentration, by adding NaOH to the solution on the microstructural and mechanical properties of the coating was investigated. Surface morphology and cross sectional view of the coating was analyzed using SEM while XRD was used to examine the phase compositions of the coatings. From XRD ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ phase was found to be increased by adding NaOH to the electrolyte. Thereby, the hardness and the wear properties of the MAO coatings were found to be superior to those of the coatings prepared without NaOH addition or with amount maximum than 2 g/l NaOH. Moreover, the morphology of the coatings was transformed form nodule-based cluster to crater based structure with the addition of NaOH to the MAO electrolyte solution.