Wear and corrosion resistance of zinc-oxide and zirconium-oxide coated WE43 magnesium alloy

Magnesium alloy, which draws attention with its lightness and high specific strength, is frequently preferred due to its advantages. However, it is necessary to improve the wear and corrosion properties in order to develop the areas of use in the automotive, aircraft, and space industries. For this purpose, after the surface preparation of the main material WE43 Mg alloy, ZnO and ZrO2 coatings were made and characterized in this study. The surface morphology and structural and chemical properties of the samples were investigated using profilometry, contact angle tests, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Corrosion tests have been carried out. In order to determine the wear performance of the samples, the wear-related volume losses were measured and the friction coefficients were compared. Layers with 2–6 μm coating thickness were obtained homogeneously on the polished and sandblasted sample surfaces. It was determined that the coating layers grew in the form of columns and did not contain capillary cracks. As a result of the study, it was observed that the ZnO-coated samples had the highest wear and corrosion resistance, and the wear and corrosion resistance of the coatings and magnesium alloy substrates improved.