Improved corrosion response of squeeze-cast SiC nanoparticles reinforced AZ91-2.0Ca-0.3Sb alloy

Abstract

The present work investigates the effect of SiC nanoparticle additions on corrosion response of the squeeze-cast AZ91 + 2.0Ca+0.3Sb (wt.%) alloy subjected to immersion, hydrogen evolution, and potentiodynamic polarization scan in a 0.1 M NaCl solution. All the AZ91 + 2.0Ca+0.3Sb + xSiCnp (x = 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 (wt.%)) nanocomposites demonstrate a superior corrosion resistance than the alloy, and the nanocomposite reinforced with 2.0SiCnp exhibits the highest corrosion resistance. The improved corrosion performance of the nanocomposites is attributed to the decrease in the potential difference between α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12 phases, reduced quantity of β-Mg17Al12 phase, and an increased amount of Al2Ca phase following SiC nanoparticles additions.