Research Progress on Corrosion and Protection of Corrosion-resistant Mg-Li Alloys

Mg-Li alloys with high specific strength and stiffness are ideal metal structural engineering materials for aerospace due to their excellent weight reduction effect. However, their poor corrosion resistance severely limits the wide application in some service environments. Therefore, in order to meet the demand of application, it is still necessary to adjust and optimize the composition of corrosion resistant Mg-Li alloys and improve its preparation process in the future. The research status on corrosion mechanism and different types of surface protection methods (metallic coating, anodic oxidation, conductive-shielded polymer coating, and smart coating), as well as future applications of corrosion-resistant Mg-Li alloys were summarized in this paper. Meanwhile, the advantages and limitation of different types of corrosion protection methods were analyzed, and the future research directions of corrosion and protection for corrosion resistant Mg-Li alloys are discussed so that to provide new ideas for future development of higher corrosion-resistant Mg-Li alloys.