Enhanced Corrosion Resistance of Layered Double Hydroxide Films on Mg Alloy: The Key Role of Cationic Surfactant

In this study, dense anticorrosion magnesium–aluminum layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) films were prepared for the first time by introducing a cationic surfactant tetradecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB) in the process of in situ hydrothermal synthesis of Mg-Al LDH films on an AZ31 magnesium alloy. Results of XRD, FTIR, and SEM confirmed that TTAB forms the MgAl-LDH-TTAB, although TTAB cannot enter into LDH layers, and MgAl-LDH-TTAB powders are much smaller and more homogenous than MgAl-CO(3)(2−)-LDH powders. Results of SEM, EDS, mapping, and XPS confirmed that TTAB forms the MgAl-LDH-TTAB films and endows LDH films with denser structure, which provides films with better shielding efficiency. Results of potentiodynamic polarization curves (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) confirmed that MgAl-LDH-TTAB(x g) films have better corrosion resistance than an MgAl-CO(3)(2−)-LDH film. The corrosion current density (i(corr)) of the MgAl-LDH-TTAB(0.35 g) film in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution was reduced to 1.09 × 10(−8) A.cm(−2) and the |Z|(f = 0.05 Hz) value was increased to 4.48 × 10(5) Ω·cm(2). Moreover, the increasing concentration of TTAB in MgAl-LDH-TTAB(x g) (x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.35) provided denser outer layer LDH films and thereby increased the corrosion resistance of the AZ31 Mg alloy. Additionally, the |Z|(f = 0.05 Hz) values of the MgAl-LDH-TTAB(0.35 g) film still remained at 10(5) Ω·cm(2) after being immersed in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution for 168 h, implying the good long-term corrosion resistance of MgAl-LDH-TTAB(x g) films. Therefore, introducing cationic surfactant in the process of in situ hydrothermal synthesis can be seen as a novel approach to creating efficient anticorrosion LDH films for Mg alloys.