Water plasma implantation/oxidation of magnesium alloys for corrosion resistance

In order to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys, plasma immersion ion implantation and oxidation has been employed using water plasma sustained by an inductively coupled radio-frequency plasma source. After the treatment, the corrosion behavior of the samples is evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization tests. The film structure and depth profile of oxygen are characterized using XRD and RBS. The results demonstrate that water plasma implantation can effectively facilitate oxidation and improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys. Our results also indicate that lower temperature processing is preferred to achieve better corrosion resistance. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.