Ascorbic acid peptized alumina sol films with enhanced corrosion resistance performance

Alumina sol was prepared with ascorbic acid (also known as Vitamin C, Vc) as peptizer instead of the traditional used HCl. The prepared sol was then used for the anti-corrosion protection of NdFeB magnets. After substitution, the protective ability of the alumina sol film on NdFeB magnets improved significantly. Systematic comparison of the two alumina sol film were taken. Result showed that the Vc peptized alumina sol (AS-Vc) film showed a more uniform and complete surface which can help repair the defects on NdFeB surface without causing other damages. The electrochemical test showed the corrosion current density of NdFeB with AS-Vc film further reduced to 7.682 × 10⁻⁸ A cm^-2, which is almost one-third of that in AS-Cl film. Along with the salt-water immersion test result, the data showed the corrosion is obviously suppressed after substitution. What's more, the differences of the film formation mechanism between the two alumina films were investigated. By comparison, NdFeB in AS-Vc showed an about 200 mV more positive open circuit potential than it in HCl peptized alumina sol (AS-Cl), which means less redox reaction during the film formation process. Above all, the Vc peptized alumina sol provides higher corrosion resistance ability for NdFeB, which is wery suitable for the simple protection of NdFeB materials.