Corrosion protection of AM60B magnesium alloy by application of electroless nickel coating via a new chrome-free pretreatment

摘要

Cerium–vanadium (Ce–V) conversion coating was proposed as a new pretreatment for application of electroless Ni–P coating on AM60B magnesium alloy to replace the traditional chromium oxide pretreatment. Morphology and chemical composition of the conversion coating were investigated. The subsequent Ni–P coating deposited on the conversion coating was also characterized by morphology, chemical composition, microstructure, corrosion protection performance and micro-hardness. A uniform, compact and pore-free electroless coating with a moderate concentration of phosphorus (7.78 wt%) was obtained. The electroless coating showed a nobler opencircuitpotential than that of the bare alloy during the first 13 h of immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. Also, the sample plated with the Ce–V conversion coating showed lower corrosion current density than the sample plated with traditional chromium oxide pretreatment. The micro-hardness of the bare alloy was significantly increased after electroless coating. The electroless coating is pore-free and there is suitable adhesion between the coating and alloy substrate.