Product/metal ratio (PMR): A novel criterion for the evaluation of electrolytes on micro-arc oxidation (MAO) of Mg and its alloys

Product/metal ratio (PMR) was introduced as a novel criterion for the evaluation of electrolytes on micro-arc oxidation (MAO) of Mg and its alloys. The criterion initially sprang from Pilling-Bedworth ratio (PBR), focused on the roles of electrolytes for the compactness of the fabricated coatings, and took attention on properties of reactants/products during MAO. Meanwhile, based on our experiments as well as the results from literatures, the effects of electrolyte additives on morphologies and compositions of the fabricated MAO coatings of Mg alloys were exploited for verification and supplement of the initial criterion. In combination of the initial PMR criterion and experimental verification, PMR could be represented by special mode (PMR (s)=V (oxide products)/V (alloy substrates)) and general mode (PMR (g)= PMR (s)+ PMR (d)). The ideal PMR (s) should be between 1 and 2, while PMR (d) is related to the coating deposition during MAO. PMR (d) is a supplement to PMR (s) when the effect of the overlaying property (O) of the coatings and the effective deposition (D) of electrolyte composites are considered (PMR (d)=f(O, D). O is related to the melting point (MP) and boiling point (BP) of the MAO products. D is related to the effective reactions between alloy substrates and electrolytes during MAO.