Beneficial effect of CeO2 on the corrosion behaviour of AA2219 squeeze cast composites – An experimental investigation

•Rare earth addition dominates grain refinement followed by squeeze pressure.•The pinning effect was also found to be predominant with the increased reinforcements.•Wetting of grain boundaries by CeO2 stimulates thermophysical properties.•PDP results extends the passivation rate of composites indicating the heterogeneity of the composites.•2% CeO2 is more resistant to the stern corrosion attack. This research emphasizes the impact of Cerium oxide on grain size and corrosion behavior of AA2219 fabricated by the Squeeze casting technique. The composites were effectively characterized by electron backscatter diffraction EBSD, which indicates a significant reduction in grain size inherited by the thermo-physical properties of the dispersoids, which in turn enhances the mechanical properties. The Corrosion behavior of squeeze cast samples was examined through the potentiodynamic polarization technique with Tafel polarization using a standard solution of 3.5% NaCl. The microscopic characterization of the corroded regions reveals that the sample with higher reinforcement of 2% CeO2 is more resistant to the pitting attack due to the hydrophobic nature of the dispersoids.