Abstract
Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) processing has received considerable attention for improving the corrosion or wear resistance of magnesium and its alloys. However, it cannot provide high-barrier long-term protection due to its high porosity. A novel approach is to introduce reactive particles to PEO coatings, aiming to seal the porosity and to provide wider range of coating compositions. Experiments with nano- and micro-sized SiO2 particles and different concentrations of KOH in the electrolyte provide new insights into possible up-take and incorporation mechanisms of particles during PEO processing.