Effect of microstructure and porosity of AlSi10Mg alloy produced by selective laser melting on the corrosion properties of plasma electrolytic oxidation coatings

In this work, PEO process was carried out on SLM samples of AlSi10Mg, characterized by different grades of porosity, in direct-current mode using high current densities and short time in a basic silicate electrolyte. For comparison, the PEO process was also performed on samples of conventional cast AlSi10Mg alloy. The microstructure and the composition of the coatings was evaluated with SEM and XPS, whereas the phase analysis was performed with XRD. The corrosion resistance was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. The parameters used for PEO process allowed to obtain a continuous coating on all SLM samples, but its morphology resulted strongly influenced by the initial microstructure of the substrate. The coatings more homogeneous and less porous were produced on the samples with initial lower porosity. The corrosion performances of all SLM samples improved after PEO treatment and the PEO coatings with lower porosity resulted the more corrosion resistant.