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Microstructure, wear and corrosion performance of plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings formed on D16T Al alloy

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Abstract

The plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings were produced on D16T Al alloy in the aluminate and silicate electrolyte with and without graphene. The phase composition, microstructure and elemental distribution of the coatings were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The wear and corrosion resistance of PEO coatings were evaluated by dry sliding wear tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The morphology feature of the wear tracks was compared and analyzed by SEM and three-dimensional microscope. The results demonstrate that the structure, wear and corrosion resistance of PEO coatings with graphene are better than that of PEO coatings without graphene. The coating fabricated in the aluminate electrolyte with graphene exhibited the lowest roughness. The coated samples formed in silicate electrolyte with graphene displayed the thickest, densest and the most compact coating. It exhibited the best wear and corrosion resistance due to the incorporation mode of graphene in the coatings. The mechanism of graphene improving the wear and corrosion resistance of PEO coating was further discussed. In summary, the comprehensive performances of PEO coatings formed in silicate electrolyte on D16T Al alloy are superior to that produced in aluminate electrolyte.

Graphic abstract

Graphene incorporated in PEO coating in forms of embedded mode and spread mode filled the pores and cracks, and significantly improved the wear and corrosion resistance. That’s ascribed to the excellent structure of PEO coating produced in silicate electrolyte with graphene.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Award of Fellowship from China Scholarship Council (No. 201608515038), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51274170), the 18th College Students’ Key Open Experimental Subjects of Southwest Petroleum University (No. KSZ18503), and the Plan Program about Passing a Test for the Youth Technicist worked in the Laboratory of Southwest Petroleum University (No. 201131010056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

    Wan-Ying Liu & Ying Liu

  2. School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

    Wan-Ying Liu, Mohd Talha & Yuan-Hua Lin

  3. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Zentrum für Material-und Küstenforschung GmbH, Institute of Materials Research, Geesthacht, 21502, Germany

    Carsten Blawert & Mikhail-L. Zheludkevich

  4. Chongqing Xinyu Pressure Vessel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Chongqing, 402560, China

    Chun-Ling Fan

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  1. Wan-Ying Liu
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Correspondence to Ying Liu.

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Liu, WY., Liu, Y., Blawert, C. et al. Microstructure, wear and corrosion performance of plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings formed on D16T Al alloy. Rare Met. 39, 1425–1439 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01523-0

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