The selection of corrosion inhibitors for Mg alloys via the evaluation of mechanical integrity

Magnesium and its alloys possess unique advantages in the fields of lightweight structural materials and biodegradable medical metallic materials. However, the chemically active nature of magnesium exacerbates localized corrosion of magnesium alloys. This issue significantly restricts the widespread application of magnesium and its alloys.

Corrosion inhibitor technology is an effective means to improve the corrosion resistance of metallic materials, achieved by introducing a small amount of compounds into the corrosive environment to markedly reduce the corrosion rate of materials. After years of research, a number of highly efficient magnesium alloy corrosion inhibitors have been reported. However, most studies primarily focus on the effect of inhibitors on the corrosion rate of magnesium alloys, failing to fully evaluate magnesium alloy corrosion inhibitors in combination with their actual service requirements.

For magnesium alloys, whether used as lightweight structural materials or biodegradable medical metallic materials, they need to maintain sufficient mechanical strength to bear corresponding loads during service. Studies have shown that the corrosion rate of magnesium alloys in different media environments cannot directly reflect their ability to maintain the original mechanical strength in corresponding environments, and the latter is directly related to the service reliability of magnesium alloys in such environments. Our recent research found that relying solely on corrosion rate measurement makes it difficult to objectively evaluate the actual effectiveness of magnesium alloy corrosion inhibitors.

This presentation will report the relevant research results of our team on magnesium alloy corrosion inhibitors. The most core highlight lies in taking the mechanical integrity and corrosion fatigue behavior of magnesium alloys under the action of corrosion inhibitors as reference indicators for the screening of corrosion inhibitors, which is of great significance for expanding the practical application of corrosion inhibitors.