Influence of ZrO2/SiO2 nanomaterial incorporation on the properties of PEO layers on Mg-Mn-Ce alloy

Abstract The properties of coatings formed on the MA8 magnesium alloy by the plasma electrolytic oxidation in electrolytes containing mechanical mixture of zirconia and silica nanoparticles in concentrations of 2, 4 and 6 g/l have been investigated. It has been established by SEM, EDS, and XPS that ZrO2/SiO2 nanoparticles successfully were incorporated into the coatings. Micro-Raman spectroscopy showed the presence of ZrO2 in tetragonal and monoclinic forms in the PEO-coating composition as well as Mg2SiO4 in tetrahedral configuration uniformly distributed in the outer part of coatings. Obtained coatings significantly reduce corrosion current density in comparison with bare Mg alloy and base PEO-layer (from 2.4 × 10–7 A/cm2 for base PEO layer to 0.7 × 10–7 A/cm2 for coatings with nanoparticles). It has been found that the presence of solid nanoparticles in the composition of coating has a positive effect on their hardness (this parameter was increased from 2.1 ± 0.3 GPa to 3.1 ± 0.4 GPa) and wearproof (the wear was reduced from (4.3 ± 0.4)×10–5 mm3/(N × m) to (3.5 ± 0.2)×10–5 mm3/(N × m)).