Evaluation of the corrosion behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy with different protein concentrations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study systematically the corrosion behavior of AZ31 magnesium (Mg) alloy with different concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 5.0 g/L). Design/methodology/approach Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potential dynamic polarization tests were performed to obtain corrosion parameters. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to analyze the local electrochemical activity of the surface film. Atomic force microscope (AFM), Scanning electron microscope-Energy dispersive spectrometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the surface morphology and chemical composition of the surface film. Findings Experimental results showed the presence of BSA in a certain concentration range (0 to 2.0 g/L) has a greater inhibitory effect on the corrosion of AZ31, however, the presence of high-concentration BSA (5.0 g/L) would sharply reduce the corrosion resistance. Originality/value When the concentration of BSA is less than 2.0 g/L, the corrosion resistance of AZ31 enhances with the concentration. The adsorption BSA layer will come into being a physical barrier to inhibit the corrosion process. However, high-concentration BSA (5.0 g/L) will chelate with dissolved metal ions (such as Mg and Ni) to form soluble complexes, which increases the roughness of the surface and accelerates the corrosion process.