Treatment of Mg powder with carbonic acid and the effect of treatment variables and treated Mg ratios on coating performance in salt spray tests

Magnesium-rich primers (MgRPs) are known to exhibit excellent corrosion resistance during natural weathering due to the formation of a controlled and complex cathodic protective layer which includes but is not limited to changing combinations of magnesium metal, magnesium hydroxide, and magnesium carbonate each during film formation, cure, and environmental exposure. Pretreating Mg powder with carbonic acid before incorporation into coatings has been shown to enhance the corrosion resistance of MgRPs. In an earlier study, the conditions for treating Mg powder and the effects of variables such as time and the order of addition were evaluated to determine optimized treatment conditions. In this study, the treatment process was analyzed further to better understand the nature of the carbonation process and the effect of treatment variables on the overall corrosion protection process. Coatings prepared with different ratios of treated and untreated Mg were evaluated via ASTM B117 salt fog exposure to determine the optimized ratio of treated and untreated pigments for maximum corrosion protection.