Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy
Climate change has evidenced the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and so for transport applications, lighter weight alloys have been studied, such as magnesium alloys. However, they are susceptible to corrosion; therefore, surface treatments have been extensively studied....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/6/2327 |
| _version_ | 1797610478874132480 |
|---|---|
| author | Cecilia Montero Cristián Gino Ramírez Lisa Muñoz Mamié Sancy Manuel Azócar Marcos Flores Alfredo Artigas José H. Zagal Xiaorong Zhou Alberto Monsalve Maritza Páez |
| author_facet | Cecilia Montero Cristián Gino Ramírez Lisa Muñoz Mamié Sancy Manuel Azócar Marcos Flores Alfredo Artigas José H. Zagal Xiaorong Zhou Alberto Monsalve Maritza Páez |
| author_sort | Cecilia Montero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change has evidenced the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and so for transport applications, lighter weight alloys have been studied, such as magnesium alloys. However, they are susceptible to corrosion; therefore, surface treatments have been extensively studied. In this work, the influence of argon plasma pretreatment on the surface properties of an AZ31 magnesium alloy focus on the enhancement of the reactivity of the surface, which was examined by surface analysis techniques, electrochemical techniques, and gravimetric measurements. The samples were polished and exposed to argon plasma for two minutes in order to activate the surface. Contact angle measurements revealed higher surface energy after applying the pretreatment, and atomic force microscopy showed a roughness increase, while X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a chemical change on the surface, where after pretreatment the oxygen species increased. Electrochemical measurements showed that surface pretreatment does not affect the corrosion mechanism of the alloy, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals an increase in the original thickness of the surface film. This increase is likely associated with the high reactivity that the plasma pretreatment confers to the surface of the AZ31 alloy, affecting the extent of oxide formation and, consequently, the increase in its protection capacity. The weight loss measurements support the effect of the plasma pretreatment on the oxide thickness since the corrosion rate of the pretreated AZ31 specimens was lower than that of those that did not receive the surface pretreatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:15:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2acce8c1d374c2c92f298d168986ceb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:15:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2acce8c1d374c2c92f298d168986ceb2023-11-17T12:20:42ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442023-03-01166232710.3390/ma16062327Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium AlloyCecilia Montero0Cristián Gino Ramírez1Lisa Muñoz2Mamié Sancy3Manuel Azócar4Marcos Flores5Alfredo Artigas6José H. Zagal7Xiaorong Zhou8Alberto Monsalve9Maritza Páez10Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Santiago 9170022, ChileDepartamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Santiago 9170022, ChileFacultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, ChileEscuela de Construcción Civil, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, ChileDepartamento de Química de Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Estación Central, Santiago 9170022, ChileDepartamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Beauchef 850, Santiago 8370415, ChileDepartamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Santiago 9170022, ChileDepartamento de Química de Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Estación Central, Santiago 9170022, ChileCorrosion and Protection Centre, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UKDepartamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Santiago 9170022, ChileDepartamento de Química de Materiales, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Estación Central, Santiago 9170022, ChileClimate change has evidenced the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and so for transport applications, lighter weight alloys have been studied, such as magnesium alloys. However, they are susceptible to corrosion; therefore, surface treatments have been extensively studied. In this work, the influence of argon plasma pretreatment on the surface properties of an AZ31 magnesium alloy focus on the enhancement of the reactivity of the surface, which was examined by surface analysis techniques, electrochemical techniques, and gravimetric measurements. The samples were polished and exposed to argon plasma for two minutes in order to activate the surface. Contact angle measurements revealed higher surface energy after applying the pretreatment, and atomic force microscopy showed a roughness increase, while X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed a chemical change on the surface, where after pretreatment the oxygen species increased. Electrochemical measurements showed that surface pretreatment does not affect the corrosion mechanism of the alloy, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals an increase in the original thickness of the surface film. This increase is likely associated with the high reactivity that the plasma pretreatment confers to the surface of the AZ31 alloy, affecting the extent of oxide formation and, consequently, the increase in its protection capacity. The weight loss measurements support the effect of the plasma pretreatment on the oxide thickness since the corrosion rate of the pretreated AZ31 specimens was lower than that of those that did not receive the surface pretreatment.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/6/2327magnesium alloyAZ31 alloyargon plasmasurface treatmentcorrosion |
| spellingShingle | Cecilia Montero Cristián Gino Ramírez Lisa Muñoz Mamié Sancy Manuel Azócar Marcos Flores Alfredo Artigas José H. Zagal Xiaorong Zhou Alberto Monsalve Maritza Páez Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Materials magnesium alloy AZ31 alloy argon plasma surface treatment corrosion |
| title | Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy |
| title_full | Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy |
| title_short | Effect of Plasma Argon Pretreatment on the Surface Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy |
| title_sort | effect of plasma argon pretreatment on the surface properties of az31 magnesium alloy |
| topic | magnesium alloy AZ31 alloy argon plasma surface treatment corrosion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/16/6/2327 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ceciliamontero effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT cristianginoramirez effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT lisamunoz effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT mamiesancy effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT manuelazocar effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT marcosflores effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT alfredoartigas effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT josehzagal effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT xiaorongzhou effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT albertomonsalve effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy AT maritzapaez effectofplasmaargonpretreatmentonthesurfacepropertiesofaz31magnesiumalloy |