Tribological and corrosion resistance properties of graphite composite coating on AZ31 Mg alloy surface produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Ceramic coatings have been successfully fabricated on the surface of Magnesium alloys (AZ31D) by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) in an alkaline silicate electrolyte with and without the addition of graphite. The influence of graphite on the surface morphology, microstructure, phase composition, chemical composition, corrosion resistance, and tribological behavior of ceramic coatings was scrutinized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), potentiodynamic polarization, MFT-4000 multifunctional material surface performance instrument. The ceramic coating with the addition of graphene exhibits better corrosion resistance and tribological performance.