Eco-Friendly Superhydrophobic Coupling Conversion Coating with Corrosion Resistance on Magnesium Alloy

An eco-friendly superhydrophobic conversion coating is fabricated to enhance the corrosion resistance of the AZ31B Mg alloy by combining the deep eutectic solvent pretreatment and electrodeposition. The coral-like micro-nano structure formed by reacting deep eutectic solvent and Mg alloy provides a structural basis for constructing a superhydrophobic coating. Cerium stearate with low surface energy is deposited on the structure, providing the coating's superhydrophobicity and the corrosion inhibition effect. Electrochemical test results demonstrate that the as-prepared superhydrophobic conversion coating (water contact angle at 154.7°) with a 99.68% protection effect significantly improves anticorrosion properties for the AZ31B Mg alloy. The corrosion current density decreases from 1.79 × 10^-4 A·cm^-2 of Mg substrate to 5.57 × 10^-7 A·cm^-2 of the coated sample. Besides, the electrochemical impedance modulus reaches the value of 1.69 × 10³ Ω·cm² and increases approximately 23 times in magnitude compared with the Mg substrate. Furthermore, the corrosion protection mechanism is attributed to the coupling effect of water-repellency barrier protection and corrosion inhibition, resulting in excellent corrosion resistance. Results demonstrate a promising strategy for the corrosion protection of Mg alloys by replacing the chromate conversion coating with the superhydrophobic coupling conversion coating.