This study explored the possibility of forming a coating layer containing alginic acid on the surface of a magnesium alloy to be used as a biomaterial. We formed a coating layer on the surface of a magnesium alloy using a plasma electrolytic oxidation process in an electrolytic solution with different amounts of alginic acid (0 g/L ~ 8 g/L). The surface morphology of all samples was observed, and craters and nodules typical of the PEO process were formed. The cross-sectional shape of the samples confirmed that the thickness of the coating layer became thicker as the alginic acid concentration increased. It was confirmed that the thickness and hardness of the sample significantly increase with increasing alginic acid concentration. The porosity of the surface and cross section tended to decrease as the alginic acid concentration increased. The XRD patterns of all samples revealed the formation of MgO, Mg2SiO4, and MgF2 complex phases. Polarization tests were conducted in a Stimulate Body Fluid solution similar to the body's plasma. We found that a high amount of alginic acid concentration in the electrolyte improved the degree of corrosion resistance of the coating layer.

For the purpose of manufacturing a high efficiency TiO2 photocatalyst, B-doped TiO2 photocatalysts are synthesized using a plasma electrolytic oxidation method in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte with different concentrations of H3BO3 as additive. For the B doped TiO2 layer fabricated from sulfuric electrolyte having a higher concentration of H3BO3 additive, the main XRD peaks of (101) and (200) anatase phase shift gradually toward the lower angle direction, indicating volume expansion of the TiO2 anatase lattice by incorporation of boron, when compared with TiO2 layers formed in sulfuric acid with lower concentration of additive. Moreover, XPS results indicate that the center of the binding energy peak of B1s increases from 191.45 eV to 191.98 eV, which suggests that most of boron atoms are doped interstitially in the TiO2 layer rather than substitutionally. The B doped TiO2 catalyst fabricated in sulfuric electrolyte with 1.0 M H3BO3 exhibits enhanced photocurrent response, and high efficiency and rate constant for dye degradation, which is ascribed to the synergistic effect of the new impurity energy band induced by introducing boron to the interstitial site and the improvement of charge transfer reaction.

Oxide coatings are formed on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy through an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation(PEO) process using an electrolytic solution of NaAlO2, KOH, and KF. The effects of PEO condition with different duty cycles (10 %, 20 %, and 40 %) and frequencies(500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz) on the crystal phase, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide coatings are investigated. The oxide coatings on die-cast AZ91D Mg alloy mainly consist of MgO and MgAl2O4 phases. The proportion of each crystalline phase depends on various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency. The surfaces of oxide coatings exhibit as craters of pancake-shaped oxide melting and solidification particles. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide coating increase considerably with increase in the number of duty cycles, while the densification and thickness of oxide coatings increase progressively. Differences in the growth mechanism may be attributed to differences in oxide growth during PEO treatment that occur because the applied operating voltage is insufficient to reach breakdown voltage at higher frequencies. PEO treatment also results in the oxide coating having strong adhesion properties on the Mg alloy. The micro-hardness at the cross-section of oxide coatings is much higher not only compared to that on the surface but also compared to that of the conventional anodizing oxide coatings. The oxide coatings are found to improve the micro-hardness with the increase in the number of duty cycles, which suggests that various electrical parameters, such as duty cycle and frequency, are among the key factors controlling the structural and physical properties of the oxide coating.

Oxide layers were formed by an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process on AZ91 Mg alloy. PEO treatment also resulted in strong adhesion between the oxide layer and the substrate. The influence of the KF electrolytic solution and the structure, composition, microstructure, and micro-hardness properties of the oxide layer were investigated. It was found that the addition of KF instead of KOH to the Na2SiO3 electrolytic solution increased the electrical conductivity. The oxide layers were mainly composed of MgO and Mg2SiO4 phases. The oxide layers exhibited solidification particles and pancake-shaped oxide melting. The pore size and surface roughness of the oxide layer decreased considerably with an increase in the concentration of KF, while densification of the oxide layers increased. It is shown that the addition of KF to the basis electrolyte resulted in fabricating of an oxide layer with higher surface hardness and smoother surface roughness on Mg alloys by the PEO process. The uniform thickness of the oxide layer formed on the Mg alloy substrates was largely determined by the electrolytic solution with KF, which suggests that the composition of the electrolytic solution is one of the key factors controlling the uniform thickness of the oxide layer.

The investigation is to modify the mechanical and chemical properties of Mg alloys using a combination of rapid solidification and surface treatment. As the first approach, was gas atomized and pressure sintered by spark plasma sintering process (SPS), showing much finer microstructure and higher strength than the alloys as cast. Further modification was performed by treating the surface of PM Mg specimen using Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) process. During the PEO processing, MgO layer was initiated to form on the surface of Mg powder compacts, and the thickness and the density of MgO layer were varied with the reaction time. The thickening rate became low with the reaction time due to the limited diffusion rate of Mg ions. The surface morphology, corrosion behavior and wear resistance were also discussed

The microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical properties of plasma electrolytic coatings (PEO) coatings on Mg-4.3 wt%Zn-1.0 wt%Y and Mg-1.0 wt%Zn-2.0 wt%Y alloys prepared by gas atomization, followed by compaction at 320 for 10 min under the pressure of 700 MPa and sintering at 380 and 420 respectively for 24 h, were investigated, which was compared with the cast Mg-1.0 wt%Zn alloy. All coatings consisting of MgO and oxides showed porous and coarse surface features with some volcano top-like pores distributed disorderly and cracks between pores. In particular, the surface of coatings on Mg-1.0 wt%Zn-2.0 wt%Y alloy showed smaller area of pores and cracks compared to the Mg-4.3 wt%Zn-1.0 wt%Y and Mg-1.0 wt%Zn alloys. The cross section micro-hardness of coatings on the gas atomized Mg-Zn-Y alloys was higher than that on the cast Mg-1.0 wt%Zn alloy. Additionally, the coated Mg-1.0 wt%Zn-2.0 wt%Y alloy exhibited the best corrosion resistance in 3.5%NaCl solution. It could be concluded that the addition of Y has a beneficial effect on the formation of protective and hard coatings on Mg alloys by plasma electrolytic oxidation treatment.