Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) was a promising surface treatment for light metals to tailor an oxide layer with excellent properties. However, porous coating structure was generally exhibited due to excessive plasma discharges, restraining its performance. The present work utilized ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and Cu-EDTA complexing agents as electrolyte additives that alter the plasma discharges to improve the electrochemical properties of Al-1.1Mg alloy coated by PEO. To achieve this purpose, PEO coatings were fabricated under an alternating current in silicate electrolytes containing EDTA and Cu-EDTA. EDTA complexes were found to modify the plasma discharging behaviour during PEO that led to a lower porosity than that without additives. This was attributed to a more homogeneous electrical field throughout the PEO process while the coating growth would be maintained by an excess of dissolved Al due to the EDTA complexes. When Cu-EDTA was used, the number of discharge channels in the coating layer was lower than that with EDTA due to the incorporation of Cu₂O and CuO altering the dielectric behaviour. Accordingly, the sample in the electrolyte containing Cu-EDTA constituted superior corrosion resistance to that with EDTA. The electrochemical mechanism for excellent corrosion protection was elucidated in the context of equivalent circuit model.

Schiff bases are versatile compounds synthesized from the condensation of primary amino compounds with aldehydes or ketones. The high thermal of many Schiff base and their complexes were useful attributes for their application as catalysts in reactions involving at high temperatures. This thermal behavior of Schiff bases and their complexes was evaluated by TGA/DTG and DTA curves with mass losses related to dehydration and decomposition. This review summarizes the developments in the last decade for thermal analysis of Schiff bases. Therefore, synthesis of Schiff bases and their complexes are reviewed.

Magnesium alloys have recently attracted great interest due their lightweight and high specific strength. However, because of their hexagonal close-packed structure, they have few active slip systems, resulting in poor ductility and high mechanical anisotropy at room temperature. In the present work, we used a cross-shear deformation imposed by a differential speed rolling (DSR) technique to improve the room temperature strength and ductility of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets. To introduce the cross-shear deformation, the sheets were rotated 180° around their longitudinal axis between the adjacent passes of DSR. The sheets of the AZ31 alloy subjected to the cross-shear deformation showed a uniform fine microstructure (1.2 ± 0.1 μm) with weak basal textures. The fabricated sheets showed a simultaneous high ultimate tensile strength and elongation-to-failure, i.e., ~333 MPa and ~21%, respectively. These were explained based on the structural features evolved due to the cross-shear deformation by DSR. The high strength was attributed to the uniform fine microstructure, whereas the high ductility was explained based on the basal texture weakening.