Wear and electrochemical behaviour of Mg-Al intermetallic coating

An erbium modified Mg17Al12 based coating was fabricated by hot press sintering on as extruded AZ61 Mg alloy. The Er modified coating was composed of Mg17Al12 and Al3Er phases. As a result of the presence of the dispersed Al3Er phase, the coating had a greater microhardness than Mg17Al12. Thermal effects of sintering at 400 degrees C for 1 h caused no obvious deterioration in the wear resistance of the AZ61 Mg matrix. Electrochemical and wear resistance tests showed that the Er modified Mg17Al12 based coating had a lower corrosion current density and a lower friction coefficient than Mg17Al12, the AZ61 Mg matrix and a thermal diffusion coating (TDC). The superior wear resistance of the sintered coating resulted from the hard Al3Er phase. The corrosion resistance of the sintered coating was better than that of the TDC as a result of suppression of hydrogen evolution by the rare earth metal Er.