Anodic Oxide Films Formed on AZ31 Magnesium Alloy by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation Method in Electrolytes Containing Various NaF Concentrations

The present work was conducted to investigate the effects of NaF concentration in phosphate and silicate-containing alkaline electrolyte on the morphology, thickness, surface roughness and hardness of anodic oxide films formed on AZ31 Mg alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) method. The PEO films showed flat surface morphology with pores in the absence of NaF in the electrolyte, but nodular features appeared on the PEO film surface prepared in NaF-containing electrolyte. Numerous pores ranging from 1 to 20 μm in size were observed in the PEO films and the size of pores decreased with increasing NaF concentration in the electrolyte. Surface roughness and thickness of PEO films showed increases with increasing NaF concentration. Hardness of the PEO films also increased with increasing NaF concentration. It was noticed that hardness of inner part of the PEO films is lower than that of outer part of them, irrespective of the concentration of NaF. The low hardness of PEO films was explained by the presence of a number of small size pores less than 2 μm near the PEO film/substrate interface.