Plasma electrolytic oxidation of AZ91D magnesium alloy in biosafety electrolyte for the surgical implant purpose

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of AZ91D magnesium alloy in biosafety electrolyte was studied. The prepared PEO coating and its stability in the simulated body fluid (SBF) were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), potentio-dynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and immersion test. The SEM results show that a kind of smooth, compact and well adhesive PEO coating is prepared in the proposed biosafety electrolyte. The electric analytical results show that the corrosion resistance of the PEO coating is excellent even in harsh environment. Immersion test shows that the PEO coating is stable enough in the SBF solution. The weight loss, the average corrosion rate and the pH variation of the PEO treated magnesium alloy are far lower than the untreated ones. From these highly positive results, the proposed PEO process is promising in the treatment of the surgical magnesium alloy materials.