• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.268-268
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• 2015

The corrosion protection behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy (Mg alloy) with cathodic electrophoretic coating (E-coating) pretreated by cerium-based conversion coatings at various pH was investigated in this study. Cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCCs) were deposited on AZ31 Mg alloy by immersion treatment in the nitrate-based cerium salt solution. The morphology and composition of the CeCCs were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The corrosion properties of the AZ31 Mg alloy pretreated with cerium coating and subsequently E-coated were studied during salt-spray testing. The surface morphologies of the E-coated Mg alloy were examined in detail after different testing times using digital photography. It was found that the protective properties of the E-coating on AZ31 Mg alloy generated are heavily dependent upon the CeCC factors such as treatment time, coating thickness and pH of the solution.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.332-337
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• 2008

A reaction and evaporation types of cerium based conversion coatings were developed for galvanized steel sheet. The corrosion loss Q(Cb/cm2) and protection efficiency P(%) were obtained using a polarization technique for cerium based conversion coatings on galvanized steel exposed to 0.5N NaCl for 7 days. The microstructure of coating layer was observed using SEM. An excellent corrosion reistnce of galvanized steel was obtained by two types of cerium basd conversion coating. Salt spray test was done to evaluate the corrosion resistance of three samples by visual inspection. The corrosion ranking of three samples-untreated and two treatedby electrochemical data was matched well with the results of salt spray test.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2016

A chromium-free Ce-based conversion coating formed by immersion in a solution containing cerium chloride and nitric acid on AZ31 magnesium alloy has been studied. The effects of acid pickling on the morphology and the corrosion resistance of the cerium conversion coating were investigated. The corrosion resistance of the conversion coating prepared on AZ31 Mg alloy after organic acid pickling was better than that of inorganic acid pickling. The morphology of the conversion-coated layer was observed using optical microscope and SEM. Results show that the conversion coatings are relatively uniform and continuous, with thickness 1.0 to $1.1{\mu}m$. The main elements of the conversion coating of AZ31 Mg alloy are Mg, O, Al, Ce and Zn by EDS analysis. The electrochemical polarization results showed that the Ce-based conversion coating could reduce the corrosion activity of the AZ31 Mg alloy substrates in the presence of chloride ions.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2016

This review deals with one of the surface modification techniques, chemical conversion coating and particularly cerium-based conversion coatings (CeCC) as a promising substitute for chromium and phosphate conversion coating on magnesium and its alloys. The CeCCs are commonly considered environmentally friendly. The effects of surface preparation, coating thickness, bath composition, and e-paint on the corrosion behavior of CeCCs have been studied on the AZ31 magnesium alloy. This review also correlates the coating microstructural, morphological, and chemical characteristics with the processing parameters and corrosion protection. Results showed that the as-deposited coating system consists of a three layer structure (1) a nanocrystalline MgO transition layer in contact with the Mg substrate, (2) a nanocrystalline CeCC layer, and (3) an outer amorphous CeCC layer. The nanocrystalline CeCC layer thickness is a function of immersion time and cerium salt used. The overall corrosion protection was crucially dependent on the presence of coating defects. The corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy was better for thinner CeCCs, which can be explained by the presence of fewer and smaller cracks. On the other hand, maximum corrosion protection was achieved when AZ31 magnesium samples with thin CeCCs are e-painted. The e-paint layer further restricts and hinders the movement of chloride and other aggressive ions present in the environment from reaching the magnesium surface.