The influence of the quantity of the Mg2Sn phase on the corrosion behavior of different solution temperature treated Mg–7Sn magnesium alloy has been investigated by electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. With the increase of solution temperature, the quantity of Mg2Sn phase decreased and the tin concentration of matrix increased. The dissolved tin in Mg matrix took part in the film formation and the constituent of film was magnesium oxide and stannic oxide. The corrosion mode and corrosion rate were associated with the quantity of Mg2Sn phases and tin concentration of the matrix. If most of tin was present as Mg2Sn, the corrosion mode was pitting corrosion and it accelerated the corrosion rate. If most of tin was dissolved in matrix, the corrosion mode was filiform corrosion and it decreased the corrosion rate. The experiment evidences demonstrated that the corrosion resistance can be improved by increasing the tin concentration of matrix and the lowest corrosion rate was observed for sample solution treated at 540 °C.

Product/metal ratio (PMR) was introduced as a novel criterion for the evaluation of electrolytes on micro-arc oxidation (MAO) of Mg and its alloys. The criterion initially sprang from Pilling-Bedworth ratio (PBR), focused on the roles of electrolytes for the compactness of the fabricated coatings, and took attention on properties of reactants/products during MAO. Meanwhile, based on our experiments as well as the results from literatures, the effects of electrolyte additives on morphologies and compositions of the fabricated MAO coatings of Mg alloys were exploited for verification and supplement of the initial criterion. In combination of the initial PMR criterion and experimental verification, PMR could be represented by special mode (PMRs=Voxide products/Valloy substrates) and general mode (PMRg= PMRs+ PMRd). The ideal PMRs should be between 1 and 2, while PMRd is related to the coating deposition during MAO. PMRd is a supplement to PMRs when the effect of the overlaying property (O) of the coatings and the effective deposition (D) of electrolyte composites are considered (PMRd=f(O, D). O is related to the melting point (MP) and boiling point (BP) of the MAO products. D is related to the effective reactions between alloy substrates and electrolytes during MAO.