The effect of NaOH concentration on the properties of electrolytic plasma processing (EPP) coating formed on AZ61A Mg alloy is studied. Various types of EPP were employed on magnesium alloy AZ61A in a silicate bath with different concentrations of NaOH additive. Analysis of the composition and structure of the coating layers was carried out using an Xray diffractometer (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the oxide coating layer mainly consisted of MgO and Mg2SiO4; its porosity and thickness were highly dependent on the NaOH concentration. The Vickers hardness was over 900 HV for all the coatings. The oxide layer with 3 g/l of NaOH concentration exhibited the highest hardness value (1220 HV) and the lowest wear rate. Potentiodynamic testing of the 3 g/l NaOH concentration showed that this concentration had the highest corrosion resistance value of 2.04 × 105 Ωcm2; however, the corrosion current density value of 5.80 × 10−7 A/cm2 was the lowest such value.

MAO ceramic coatings were prepared on AZ61 magnesium alloy for various processing times ranging from 5 to 60 min, in an electrolyte solution based on silicate-fluoride. The mechanical, electrochemical and, microstructural properties and the phase compositions of the coating layers were investigated. In this work, unlike previous studies, coatings with high amounts of the Mag2SiO4 phase were formed which contained small amounts of MgO and MgF2 at a processing condition of 30 min. A microstructural analysis revealed that the porosity of the coatings was reduced considerably with an increase in the processing time, together with a change in the pore geometry from an irregular to a spherical shape. Potentiodynamic polarization and mechanical testing results showed that the coatings acquired after a processing time of 30 min were superior to all of the others.