Towards Unravelling the Source of Cathode-Activated Corrosion Filaments Formed on Corroding Mg Alloy Surfaces

Reported scanning vibrating probe (SVP) measurements have shown that the localized corrosion filaments formed on dissolving Mg and AZ31B (Mg-3Al-1Zn-0.3Mn) become activated cathodes following their formation. These cathodicly-activated filaments galvanically couple with intensely anodic regions at the heads of the corrosion filaments which subsequently drives the lateral propagation of the corrosion filament across the exposed surface. The …