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Effective inhibition of magnesium-lithium-aluminum alloys corrosion by sodium molybdate
* 1 , * 2 , 3 , 4 , 1
1  Department of Physical, Colloid and Analytical Chemistry, Belarusian State Technological University
2  Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences
3  Department of Molecular Physics, Lodz University of Technology
4  Department of Chemistry, Technology of Electrochemical Production and Electronic Engineering Materials, Belarusian State Technological University

Abstract:

Magnesium alloys are widely applied as structural materials in aerospace and automotive industries due to their light weight, excellent formability, high specific strength, and damping characteristics. Lithium has been added to magnesium alloys to improve ductility and reduce weight. On the other hand, the addition of lithium decreases their strength and, often, corrosion resistance. The present work aims to study the effect of Na2MoO4 on the corrosion inhibition of magnesium-lithium-aluminum alloys Mg–xLi–3Al (x = 4–15%) in 0.05 M NaCl solutions. The mechanism of corrosion inhibition using aqueous molybdate was characterized by the electrochemical measurements, hydrogen evolution, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX. Electrochemical measurements showed that the addition of 10 to 150 mM of molybdate inhibitor in 0.05 NaCl solutions results in the inhibition efficiency from 64 to 80 %, respectively. Raman results showed that the addition of Na2MoO4 inhibitor leads to the formation of a passive layer on the surface. In turn, the α+β MgLi phases present in the alloys are the centers of the surface passivation through the formation of a passive layer on the surface. The passive layer consists of Mg(OH)2, crystalline molybdates, and mixed-valence molybdenum oxides. Concluding, molybdate is a highly-effective corrosion inhibitor of magnesium-lithium-aluminum alloys.

Keywords: Mg-Li-Al alloys; corrosion; corrosion mechanism; sodium molybdate; passive layer
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