Effects of Mg and Sn elements on microstructure and properties of Al-Zn-In-Ga sacrificial anode

Abstract

Alloy corrosion affects the service life and performance of materials and poses serious safety and economic risks. This study employed methods such as scanning electron microscopy, potentiodynamic polarization, and current efficiency tests to investigate the effects of Mg and Sn elements on the microstructure, electrochemical performance, and corrosive behavior of Al-5.5Zn-0.03In-0.03Ga sacrificial anodes. The results show that the grain size of Al-Zn-In-Ga alloy decreases from 366.77 µm to 261.14 µm with the addition of 1 wt.% Mg and further decreases to 192.34 µm with the addition of 0.05 wt.% Sn. Moreover, the second phase evolves from Zn/In-rich phase to the MgZn₂ phase with the addition of Mg, and further transforms into the Mg₉Sn₅ phase with the addition of Sn. The corrosion process begins with pitting and intergranular corrosion, which gradually spread to the interior of the grains. The addition of Mg and Sn in the Al-Zn-In-Ga alloy inhibits second phase and grain shedding during discharging. The Al-5.5Zn-0.03In-0.03Ga-1Mg-0.05Sn sacrificial anode exhibits the most superior discharge performance, achieving an actual discharge capacity of 2604.28 A·h/kg and a current efficiency of 91.7%.

Keywords

aluminum sacrificial anodes / alloying / microstructure / electrochemical properties / corrosion behavior

References

[1] Ma Y-q, Li K-p, Li C-l, et al. . Corrosion behavior of selective laser melted 6061 aluminum alloy electrodes for aluminum-air battery. Journal of Power Sources, 2024, 594: 233999 J]

[2] Huang H-w, Li M-l, Tian Y-q, et al. . Exfoliation and functionalization of α-zirconium phosphate in one pot for waterborne epoxy coatings with enhanced anticorrosion performance. Progress in Organic Coatings, 2020, 138: 105390 J]

[3] Li Z, Long Z-l, Lei S, et al. . Evaluating the corrosion resistance of marine steels under different exposure environments via machine learning. Physica Scripta, 2023, 98(1): 015402 J]

[4] Yu X-f, Zhang G-q, Zhang Z-x, et al. . Research on corrosion resistance of anodized and sealed 6061 aluminum alloy in 3.5% sodium chloride solution. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 2023, 18(5): 100092 J]

[5] Deng K-p, Zhao G-q, Wang J-c. Crevice-galvanic coupling corrosion behavior and mechanism of QC-10 aluminum alloy in chloride-containing solutions. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2025, 228: 11-33 J]

[6] Xi Y-t, Jia M, Zhang J, et al. . Evaluating the performance of aluminum sacrificial anodes with different concentration of gallium in artificial sea water. Coatings, 2022, 12(1): 53 J]

[7] Zhang Y-s, Wang R-c, Peng C-q, et al. . Influence of cooling rate on the corrosion behavior of Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ag sacrificial anode. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2024, 30: 1207-1216 J]

[8] Konieczny J, Labisz K, Polok-Rubiniec M, et al. . Influence of aluminium alloy anodizing and casting methods on structure and functional properties. Archives of Metallurgy and Materials, 2016, 61(3): 1337-1342 J]

[9] Liang Y, Du Y-x, Zhu Z-h, et al. . Investigation on AC corrosion of aluminum alloy sacrificial anode in the artificial simulated seawater environment. Electrochimica Acta, 2023, 446: 142002 J]

[10] Geng Y-h, Jiang Q-t, Wu X-h, et al. . The influence of rare earth elements (Ce, La, Y, Nd, Gd) on the microstructure, electrochemical and antibacterial properties of Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti sacrificial anodes. Corrosion Science, 2024, 235: 112196 J]

[11] Zhang T-s, Wang Z-y, Qiu Y-b, et al. . “Electrons-siphoning” of sulfate reducing bacteria biofilm induced sharp depletion of Al-Zn-In-Mg-Si sacrificial anode in the galvanic corrosion coupled with carbon steel. Corrosion Science, 2023, 216: 111103 J]

[12] Ma J-l, Ren F-z, Wang G-x, et al. . Electrochemical performance of melt-spinning Al-Mg-Sn based anode alloys. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2017, 42(16): 11654-11661 J]

[13] Wloka J, Bürklin G, Virtanen S. Influence of second phase particles on initial electrochemical properties of AA7010-T76. Electrochimica Acta, 2007, 53(4): 2055-2059 J]

[14] Del Rosario Silva Campos M, Blawert C, Scharnagl N, et al. . Cathodic protection of mild steel using aluminium-based alloys. Materials, 2022, 15(4): 1301 J]

[15] Xu T, Hu Z-f, Yao C. The effects of Ca addition on corrosion and discharge performance of commercial pure aluminum alloy 1070 as anode for aluminum-air battery. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 2019, 14(3): 2606-2620 J]

[16] El-Hadad S, Moussa M E, Waly M. Effects of alloying with Sn and Mg on the microstructure and electrochemical behavior of cast aluminum sacrificial anodes. International Journal of Metalcasting, 2021, 15(2): 548-565 J]

[17] Reding J T, Newport J J. The influence of alloying elements on aluminum anodes in sea water. Corrosion Engineering Digest, 1967, 16(2): 68-70 J]

[18] Zakowski K, Orlikowski J, Darowicki K, et al. . The effect of increasing the amount of indium alloying material on the efficiency of sacrificial aluminium anodes. Materials, 2021, 14(7): 1755 J]

[19] He J-g, Wen J-b, Li X-d. Effects of precipitates on the electrochemical performance of Al sacrificial anode. Corrosion Science, 2011, 53(5): 1948-1953 J]

[20] Li L, Liu H, Yan Y, et al. . Effects of alloying elements on the electrochemical behaviors of Al-Mg-Ga-In based anode alloys. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2019, 44(23): 12073-12084 J]

[21] Liu X-l, Chen Y-s, Xie C-y, et al. . Effects of alloying elements on the corrosion behavior and discharge performance of Al-Zn-Mg-In-Ti-Sn sacrificial anode. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2025, 1010: 177554 J]

[22] Khireche S, Boughrara D, Kadri A, et al. . Corrosion mechanism of Al, Al-Zn and Al-Zn-Sn alloys in 3 wt.% NaCl solution. Corrosion Science, 2014, 87: 504-516 J]

[23] Ren J-m, Ma J-b, Zhang J, et al. . Electrochemical performance of pure Al, Al-Sn, Al-Mg and Al-Mg-Sn anodes for Al-air batteries. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2019, 808: 151708 J]

[24] Farooq A, Hamza M, Ahmed Q, et al. . Evaluating the performance of zinc and aluminum sacrificial anodes in artificial seawater. Electrochimica Acta, 2019, 314: 135-141 J]

[25] Im H J, Dunand D C. Microstructure, hardness, and creep of Co-Fe-Ni-based high-entropy superalloy processed by laser powder-bed fusion. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2024, 916: 147378 J]

[26] Yang B-w, Wang Y, Gao M-q, et al. . The response of mechanical property to the microstructure variation of an Al-Mg alloy by adding tin element. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2021, 825: 141901 J]

[27] Kim Y Y, Rosenthal D F T, Shin D, et al. . Effects of Sn addition on precipitation of a pre-naturally aged Al-Zn-Mg alloy during artificial aging. Materials Characterization, 2024, 207: 113537 J]

[28] Yu B-w, Jiang H-t, Zhang Y. Discharge performance and behavior of Mg-xSr binary alloys as novel anodes for primary Mg-Air cells. Journal of Power Sources, 2024, 602: 234269 J]

[29] Li D-h, Hou L-f, Du H-y, et al. . Activating discharge and inhibiting self-corrosion by adding indium to the anode of Mg-air battery. Nanoscale, 2025, 17(8): 4649-4658 J]

[30] Ahmadabad G T U, Mistry V A, Dani M S, et al. . Development of Al-Mg alloy for the protection of steel structure in 3.5% NaCl. Jurnal Kejuruteraan, 2023, 35(5): 1199-1207 J]

[31] Ye Y-w, Zhang D-w, Li J-y, et al. . One-step synthesis of superhydrophobic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-graphene oxide and its application in anticorrosion and anti-wear fields. Corrosion Science, 2019, 147: 9-21 J]

[32] Zhang Z-q, Sun J-n, Xia J-y, et al. . Anisotropic response in corrosion behavior of laser powder bed fusion Al-Mn-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy. Corrosion Science, 2022, 208: 110634 J]

[33] Zhang P, Gao Y-r, Liu Z-h, et al. . Effect of cutting parameters on the corrosion resistance of 7A04 aluminum alloy in high speed cutting. Vacuum, 2023, 212: 111968 J]

[34] He C-g, Song Z-b, Gan Y-z, et al. . Study on the corrosion behavior and mechanism of ER8 wheel steel in neutral NaCl solution. Coatings, 2022, 12(5): 713 J]

[35] Zhao Z-y, Zou Y, Liu P, et al. . EIS equivalent circuit model prediction using interpretable machine learning and parameter identification using global optimization algorithms. Electrochimica Acta, 2022, 418: 140350 J]

[36] Jiang X G, Song J W, Wang X B, et al. . Improved 3D porous structures of Ni electrodes prepared by high-pressure cold spray and post annealing for water splitting. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2022, 47(27): 13226-13239 J]

[37] Zhuang Z-h, Feng Y, Peng C-q, et al. . Effect of Ga on microstructure and electrochemical performance of Al-0.4Mg-0.05Sn-0.03Hg alloy as anode for Al-air batteries. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 2021, 31(9): 2558-2569 J]

[38] Mccafferty E. Standard electrode potentials of the elements as a fundamental periodic property of atomic number. Electrochimica Acta, 2007, 52(19): 5884-5890 J]

[39] Oulmas C, Mameri S, Boughrara D, et al. . Development of Al-5%Zn-0.5%Sn-2.6%Mg alloy as sacrificial anode for cathodic protection of steel in 3 wt.% NaCl solution. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2021, 168(3): 031514 J]

[40] Mishra P, Kumar P, Neelakantan L, et al. . First-principles prediction of electrochemical polarization and mechanical behavior in Mg based intermetallics. Computational Materials Science, 2022, 214: 111667 J]

[41] Li Y, Tang Y-x, Liu X-h, et al. . Insight into the crevice corrosion mechanism of AA7075-T651 high-strength aluminum alloys in neutral nitrate solution: The effect of Cl⁻. Materials and Corrosion, 2024, 75(10): 1373-1388 J]

[42] Peng C, Liu Y-w, Guo M-x, et al. . Corrosion and pitting behavior of pure aluminum 1060 exposed to Nansha Islands tropical marine atmosphere. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 2022, 32(2): 448-460 J]

[43] Wang Y-q, Kong G, Che C-s. Corrosion behavior of Zn-Al, Zn-Mg, and Zn-Mg-Al coatings in simulated concrete pore solution. Corrosion, 2019, 75(2): 203-209 J]

[44] Xie C-y, Chen Y-s, Liu X-l, et al. . Effect of voltage and time on microstructure and corrosion resistance of anodic oxidation film on Al-5.5Zn-0.03In-1Mg-0.03Ti-0.08Sn alloy. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2024, 1009: 176740 J]

[45] Ma J-l, Wen J-b. The effects of lanthanum on microstructure and electrochemical properties of Al-Zn-In based sacrificial anode alloys. Corrosion Science, 2009, 51(9): 2115-2119 J]

[46] Liu R, Zhang R, Cui Y, et al. . Failure mechanism of Al-Zn-In sacrificial anode under the synergic action of water pressure and fluid in the extreme deep-sea environment. Corrosion Communications, 2024, 14: 39-48 J]

[47] Ma J-l, Wen J-b, Li X-d, et al. . Influence of Mg and Ti on the microstructure and electrochemical performance of aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes. Rare Metals, 2009, 28(2): 187-192 J]

[48] Saeri M R, Keyvani A. Optimization of manganese and magnesium contents in as-cast aluminum-zinc-indium alloy as sacrificial anode. Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2011, 27(9): 785-792 J]

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Central South University