Corrosion behaviour of magnesium alloys coated with TiN by cathodic arc deposition in NaCl and Na2SO4 solutions

Magnesium-based light-metal alloys belong to a class of structural materials with increasing industrial attention. Magnesium alloys show the lowest density among the engineering metallic materials, low cost and large availability. However, the limitations according to mechanical strength and the low corrosion resistance restrict their practical application. In this study, TiN was coated on magnesium-based AZ91 magnesium–aluminium–zinc alloy using cathodic arc PVD process. The corrosion behaviours of uncoated and coated magnesium alloys in 1% NaCl, 3% NaCl and 3% Na2SO4 solutions and the influence of the coatings on the corrosion behaviour of the substrate were investigated utilizing potentiodynamic polarization tests. A potentiostat for electrochemical corrosion tests, a cathodic arc physical vapour deposition coating system for coating processes, a scanning electron microscopy for surface examination and elemental analysis of the coatings were used in this study. It was determined that corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys can be increased with TiN coating on the alloys using cathodic arc PVD process.