Improved Corrosion Resistance of Magnesium Alloy in Simulated Concrete Pore Solution by Hydrothermal Treatment

Magnesium alloys are considered for building materials in this study due to their natural immunity to corrosion in alkaline concrete pore solution. But, chloride ions attack often hinders the application of most metals. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary corrosion evaluation and attempt to find an effective way to resist the attack of chloride ions in concrete pore solution. In our study, hydrothermal treatment is carried out to modify Mg-9.3 wt. % Al alloy. After the treatment in NaOH solution for 10 h, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that a layer of dense coating with a thickness of about 5 μm is formed on Mg alloy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) are combined to analyze the coating, and it is thereby confirmed that the coating is mainly composed of Mg(OH)₂. As expected, both immersion test and electrochemical corrosion test show that the coated magnesium alloy has a better corrosion resistance than the uncoated one in simulated concrete pore solution with and without chloride ions. In summary, it indicates that hydrothermal treatment is a feasible method to improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloys used for building engineering from the perspective of corrosion science.