The anodically polarized Mg surface products and accelerated hydrogen evolution

To clarify the anodic dissolution mechanism of Mg, the hydrogen evolution from pure Mg in acidic solutions under galvanostatic conditions were systematically measured. With increasing anodic current density, the cathodic hydrogen evolution rate decreased, and the anodic hydrogen evolution became faster while some surface area on the Mg was becoming dark under anodic polarization. Based on the surface analysis results and the generally accepted basic electrochemical equations, the evolution kinetics of hydrogen from Mg was deduced, and the most possible surface intermediate active species that could facilitate the anodic Mg dissolution and anodic hydrogen evolution were proposed. This paper further develops the model of incomplete film Mg + dissolution, explains many reported experimental phenomena, and clarifies misunderstandings of current mechanism. (c) 2021 Chongqing University. Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) Peer review under responsibility of Chongqing University

Automated summary

To understand the anodic dissolution of Mg, researchers systematically measured the hydrogen evolution from pure Mg in acidic solutions under galvanostatic conditions. The results showed that as the anodic current density increased, the cathodic hydrogen evolution rate decreased, and the anodic hydrogen evolution rate increased. The study proposed possible surface intermediate active species that could facilitate the anodic Mg dissolution and anodic hydrogen evolution, and clarified misunderstandings of the current mechanism.