Corrosion Characteristics of Mg Alloys

Magnesium alloys as structural and functional engineering materials have a high strength to weight ratio. They are finding wider application in the automotive, aerospace, military, electronic and energy industries.  However, magnesium is chemically active. Mg alloys normally have low corrosion resistance and exhibit unusual corrosion behavior in aqueous environments. This paper briefly summarizes the corrosion characteristics of Mg alloys, such as hydrogen evolution, surface alkalization, macro-galvanic damage, micro-galvanic effect of Mg alloys and the influences of chemical composition of matrix, secondary phase, and impurities on corrosion. Based on these, a potential strategy is proposed to mitigate the corrosion of Mg alloys.