Zhu Zhiqiang, a second-year master's student of the research group, under the supervision of Mr Lu Hailin, has published a paper as the first author in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) journal Materials Chemistry and Physics (Impact Factor 4.3), entitled ‘Performance evaluation of scanning micro-arc oxidation ceramic coating on aluminium alloy under different current working modes’. Micro-arc oxidation (MAO) is a common surface treatment technology, but the traditional method has limitations in treating large workpieces. For this reason, our group proposes a scanning microarc oxidation (SMAO) process, which uses a three-axis slide table to control the cathode movement and achieve non-immersion oxidation. This study investigates the effects of different current modes on the properties of microarc oxidised ceramic coatings and reveals their relationships with coating thickness, hardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance. The research results help to optimise the micro-arc oxidation process and expand its application range. Author information: Zhiqiang Zhu a, Shubo Li b, Zhichen Xue a, Zhenhua Liu a, Nan Tu a, *, Hailin Lu a, c, *.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of SMAO