Effect of rare earth element Gd and Y on the corrosion behavior of ZK60 magnesium alloy was inves鄄
tigated in 5 wt% NaCl aqueous solutions with immersion test. The corrosion products and their morphologies formed in
the solution after immersing various time have been analyzed by SEM and XRD. Results indicate that ZK60 magnesi鄄
um alloy exhibits bad corrosion resistant behavior, while the corrosion resistant behavior of ZK60 alloy with the addi鄄
tion of Gd and Y is significantly improved. This phenomenon is ascribed to the fact that addition of Gd and Y can re鄄
duce the corrosion velocity of magnesium matrix. The corrosion morphology of the two kinds of magnesium alloys is
different. The formation rate of the corrosion pit was decreased by the addition of Gd and Y. In addition,the corrosion
product of ZK60 alloy with the addition of rare earth element is more condensed. The corrosion product is Mg(OH)2
for the two kinds of alloy,which is easy to split and the resultant result is the formation of net film. This film can fur鄄
ther grow,split and fall off. At last, the corrosion process is accelerated.