Effects of voltage on the characteristics and corrosion resistance of microarc oxidation coatings on Ti6Al4V alloy

Ceramic coatings were prepared on Ti6Al4V in aluminate-based electrolyte by microarc oxidation at various voltages using potentiostatic regime. The phase composition, microstructure and morphology of the coatings were characterized by eddy thickness gauge, XRD and SEM respectively. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was investigated by polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution. The results show that all the coatings are mainly composed of Al(2)TiO(5). When the voltage increases from 360V to 510V, the coating thickness grows significantly, and the pores in the coatings get large and deep simultaneously. As a result, the corrosion resistance of the coatings increases first and then decreases with the turning point of 410V, at which the coating prepared shows the smallest corrosion current density of 1.965E-9 A/cm(2). The coating prepared at a higher voltage before the discharges grow large and intense (410V in this work) shows the best corrosion resistance.