Effect of Native Oxide Film on Commercial Magnesium Alloys Substrates and Carbonate Conversion Coating Growth and Corrosion Resistance

Possible relations between the native oxide film formed spontaneously on the AZ31 and AZ61 magnesium alloy substrates with different surface finish, the chemistry of the outer surface of the conversion coatings that grows after their subsequent immersion on saturated aqueous NaHCO3 solution treatment and the enhancement of corrosion resistance have been studied. The significant increase in the amount of aluminum and carbonate compounds on the surface of the conversion coating formed on the AZ61 substrate in polished condition seems to improve the corrosion resistance in low chloride ion concentration solutions. In contrast, the conversion coatings formed on the AZ31 substrates in polished condition has little effect on their protective properties compared to the respective as-received surfacefinancial support for this work from the Ministry of Economy and Competitivity of Spain (MAT 2009-13530 and MAT2012-30854)We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI)Peer reviewe