Liquid phase deposition treatment (LPD) was applied to form a corrosion protective titanium dioxide (TiO2) film on commercially available pure magnesium. Changing the solution pH, from acidic to highly alkaline, and with the addition of sucrose, it becomes possible to form a highly adhesive and thin TiO2 film on commercially available pure magnesium without any heat treatment. The role of the sucrose may be attributed to the formation of tetrafluoroboric acid (BF4)(-) in the solution reducing the homogeneous nucleation of TiO2 in the LPD solution. The film formed in the weak alkaline environment shows better corrosion resistance than at other LPD conditions, while the average rest potential is the same as that of as-polished specimens. This low rest potential may be due to micro-cracks in the formed film and high activity of the magnesium substrate. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.