Microstructures and Composition of Ceramic Coatings on Aluminum Produced by Micro-Arc Oxidation

Microstructures and phase composition of the ceramic coatings formed on pure aluminum by heteropolar pulsed current ceramic synthesizing system for different periods were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Results show that the amount of the discharge channels in the ceramic coating sminish while the aperture largen in the micro-arc oxidation process, and the surface of the ceramic coatingmelted and solidified in the process.XRD studies of ceramic coatings deposited for different time show that these coatings consist mainly of α-Al2 O3, γ-Al2 O3 , θ-Al2 O3 and a little amorphous phase, and phase composition of compact and porous ceramic coatings don' t have much difference but have a little change of the content of α-Al2 O3 and amorphous phase.