Application of g-C_(3)N_(4)/sol-gel nanocomposite on AM60B magnesium alloy and investigation of its properties

To protect the AM60B magnesium alloy from corrosion,a sol-gel coating containing hydroxylated g-C_(3)N_(4)nanoplates was applied.The chemical composition of the hydroxylated g-C_(3)N_(4)nanoplates was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The hydroxylation process did not affect the crystal size,specific surface area,pore volume,average pore diameter,and thermal stability of the g-C_(3)N_(4)nanoplates.After incorporating pristine and hydroxylated g-C_(3)N_(4)nanoplates,dense sol-gel coatings were obtained.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)revealed the uniform distribution of the modified g-C_(3)N_(4)in the coating.The average roughness of the coating was also reduced after adding the modified nanoplates due to the decreased aggregation tendency.Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)examinations in simulated acid rain revealed a significant improvement in the anticorrosion properties of the sol-gel film after the addition of the modified g-C_(3)N_(4)due to the chemical bonding of the coating to the nanoplates.

Combining the 8-hydroxyquinoline intercalated layered double hydroxide film and sol-gel coating for active corrosion protection of the magnesium alloy

8-hydroxyquinoline(8-HQ)intercalated layered double hydroxides(LDH)film as underlayer and sol-gel layer was combined for active corrosion protection of the AM60B magnesium alloy.The LDH,LDH/sol-gel,and LDH@HQ/sol-gel coatings were analyzed using the scanning electron microscopy(SEM),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS),X-ray diffraction(XRD),atomic force microscopy(AFM),and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)methods.The SEM images showed that the surface was entirely coated by the LDH film composed of vertically-grown nanosheets.The same morphology was observed for the LDH/sol-gel and LDH@HQ/sol-gel coatings.Also,almost the same topography was observed for both composite coatings except that the LDH@HQ/sol-gel coating had relatively higher surface roughness.Although the LDH film had the same impedance behavior as the alloy sample in 3.5wt%NaCl solution,its corrosion resistance was much higher,which could be due to its barrier properties as well as to the trap-ping of the chloride ions.Similar to the LDH film,the corrosion resistance of the LDH/sol-gel composite diminished with increasing the ex-posure time.However,its values were much higher than that of the LDH film,which was mainly related to the sealing of the solution path-ways.The LDH@HQ/sol-gel composite showed much better anti-corrosion properties than the LDH/sol-gel coating due to the adsorption of the 8-HQ on the damaged areas through the complexation.